Snowden apparently did not board Havana flight, but may leave Moscow Tuesday

Snowden apparently did not board Havana flight, but may leave Moscow Tuesday
By Kathy Lally, Anthony Faiola and Karen DeYoung,
MOSCOW — Edward Snowden, who was expected to fly to Havana from Moscow
Monday, did not board the flight, according to journalists on the
airplane and airport officials, lending yet another twist to a
convoluted flight from U.S. authorities.

Just where he was remained a mystery. His ultimate destination was
reported to be Ecuador, where he has asked for asylum. But at a press
conference in Hanoi Monday a few hours after the plane had left
Moscow, Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said he could not
say where Snowden was.
"We are in close contact with the Russian government," he said, "but
the specific information as to his whereabouts, we cannot share that
at this time, we don't have it and we can't share it."

Patino said Ecuador was still considering Snowden's request for asylum
while also delivering what appeared to be an impassioned defense of
the former CIA contractor who has admitted leaking government secrets
about surveillance programs. Patino, whose government has been sharply
criticized for silencing journalists at home, insisted that Snowden's
case was fundamentally one based on the principle of human rights and
praised Snowden for disclosing a surveillance program that had
affected nations around the globe.

He cited U.S. refusals to extradite bankers convicted in crimes in
Ecuador, saying Quito was now free to exercise its "sovereignty" in
the same way. When asked if he was concerned about damaging his
nation's economic relationship with Washington, Patino remained
adamant.

"Ecuador puts its principles above its economic interests," he said.

Snowden's apparent failure to board the flight to Havana led to wide
speculation in Russian media, which suggested he had left by another
route, was taking Aeroflot's Tuesday flight to Hanoi instead or even
that he was being questioned by Russian intelligence, though there was
no evidence to support any theory.

Moscow itself has said little to say about Snowden's presence here.
Despite a direct request from the United States to return him to U.S.
soil to face charges of leaking government secrets, Russian officials
said Monday that they had no legal authority to detain the fugitive
former government contractor, who arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on
Sunday and was seeking asylum in Ecuador, reportedly planning to
travel there by way of Havana.

A frustrated Secretary of State John F. Kerry said he was troubled by
the apparent refusal of fellow world powers China and Russia to
respond to espionage charges the United States had filed against
Snowden, who leaked top-secret documents about U.S. surveillance
programs.

"It is a very serious question for all of us in all our
relationships," Kerry said. "There is no small irony here," Kerry
added, posing the hypothetical question of whether Snowden sought
refuge in China and Russia "because they're such powerful bastions of
Internet freedom."

The flight to Havana was packed with journalists, who set off a
flutter of Tweets when the airplane door was closed.

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