Barack Obama planned to raise U.S. concerns over the Edward Snowden saga directly with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday afternoon.
The high-level contact was scheduled several days ago, the White House said, but the timing couldn't be better ..
Hours earlier, Snowden, who's wanted in the U.S. for leaking secret surveillance programs, met with human rights groups inside a Moscow airport to say he plans to seek temporary asylum in Russia.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney:
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN JAY CARNEY SAYING:
"Providing a propaganda platform for Mr. Snowden runs counter to the Russian government's previous declarations of Russia's neutrality and that they have, and that they have no control over his presence in the airport."
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, if Moscow grants his asylum request, U.S.-Russian relations could be hurt.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON JEN PSAKI SAYING:
