NB: This story has been updated. Please see new story here. 
 
 MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – Fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has been issued with a document allowing him to leave the transit zone of Russia’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Russian media reported Wednesday. 
 
 Russian media cited unnamed sources in Russian law enforcement as saying that a document allowing Snowden to leave the transit zone – provided the border service does not object – was issued to him when he submitted his asylum request. 
 
 Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking classified data about the US National Security Agency’s surveillance activities, formally requested temporary asylum in Russia on July 16. 
 
 Russia’s Federal Migration Service has so far refrained from giving on-the-record comments on the reports. 
 
 Russian media reports also say that Snowden is meeting the lawyer that helped him submit his asylum request at Sheremetyevo Airport on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 Snowden has been holed up in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo Airport since arriving there on a flight from Hong Kong on June 23. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Daniel Sandford reports on the lawyer with a bag who intrigued journalists at Moscow Airport on Wednesday 
 
 Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has not been given Russian travel documents, his lawyer has said, contradicting earlier reports. 
 
 Anatoly Kucherena told reporters his client would remain in the transit zone at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where he has been for the past month. 
 
 Earlier, airport officials said that Mr Kucherena had given Mr Snowden the travel documents. 
 
 The US wants him extradited for leaking details of surveillance programmes. 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to hand him to the American authorities, but said he could stay in Russia only if he stopped leaking US secrets. 
 
 'Studying Russian culture' 
 
 Mr Snowden, whose passport has been cancelled by the US, has stayed in the airport's transit area since arriving from Hong Kong on 23 June. 
 
 He has requested temporary asylum in Russia, and said recently his favoured final destination was Latin America. 
 
 Mr Kucherena visited his client at the airport on Wednesday and told a news conference later that the 30-year-old would not yet be leaving the airport. 
 
 He said the application for temporary asylum had not been processed, and no travel documents had been received. 
 
 "He is not planning to leave for now. He asked for temporary asylum, which in the case of a positive decision is granted for a term of one year," said Mr Kucherena. 
 
 The lawyer said Mr Snowden wanted to study Russian culture, adding that he had given the American books including Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. 
 
 Mr Kucherena said Mr Snowden was "anxious" about leaving the airport. 
 
 "I hope that this situation will be resolved in the nearest future," he said. "This is the first time Russia is facing such a situation, and this issue of course requires time for the immigration workers." 
 
 The lawyer's account contradicted that of airport officials, who earlier told local media that the lawyer had handed Mr Snowden the documents he needed to leave the airport. 
 
 Asylum offers 
 
 It was unclear whether there had been last-minute political intervention or some other problem. 
 
 The Interfax news agency quoted unnamed officials saying the American would be provided with new clothes before leaving the airport. 
 
 After the lawyer's news conference, the White House said it wanted clarity from Russia on his status. 
 
 Spokesman Jay Carney said Washington had already made it clear to Moscow that Mr Snowden should be handed over to face espionage charges. 
 
 The Snowden affair has caused diplomatic ructions around the world, upsetting America's close allies and traditional enemies. 
 
 Leaks by the former CIA worker have led to revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) is collecting Americans' phone records. 
 
 On Wednesday evening, an attempt to block funding for the programme narrowly failed in a 205-217 vote in the US House of Representatives. 
 
 The White House had lobbied Congress to support the surveillance. 
 
 Opponents of the US, including Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, have all offered Mr Snowden asylum. ||||| Following the official asylum petition by Edward Snowden to the Russian authorities, RT interviewed Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena who consults Snowden. He has explained to RT the intricacies of the Russian asylum process. 
 
 Kucherena elaborated on the personal motivation of Edward Snowden’s petition and highlighted the legality of such a request. He stressed that the Russian decision to review the asylum request was based on the “human rights” aspect of the issue. 
 
 
 
 RT:Can you walk us through the steps of obtaining asylum in Russia for Mr Snowden. 
 
 
 
 Anatoly Kucherena: Yesterday Mr Edward Snowden invited me for a meeting, so I can explain to him the Russian laws. We spent a lot of time in discussion yesterday where he asked questions and I explained everything to him regarding Russia’s refugee laws, in regards to receiving political asylum, and in regards to receiving a temporary asylum. In terms of his legal status, receiving political asylum or temporary asylum would not change status. In terms of receiving political asylum status, the procedure is quite long - 6 months. Receiving a temporary asylum will only take up to 3 months. He chose this option. 
 
 
 
 It is understandable that he is morally tired, being kept in the transit zone of Sheremetevo airport. I understand that being kept there is difficult. That is why he made this decision. If the Federal Migration Service (FMS) rules in favor of his asylum request, that was handed over in my presence and officially accepted and registered by FMS, then he will receive asylum status for one year. This status he could renew further for a year and then another year, as he sees fit. But in this case, we’re talking about his will, because in this situation, he had to fill out the application. I was there just to consult on the legal matters in this field. 
 
 
 
 RT:Do I understand it correctly, that until a decision on the petition is made he cannot leave the confinement of Sheremetevo airport? 
 
 
 
 AK: He could leave the neutral zone of Sheremetevo airport only when he receives proper paperwork, meaning that he does not have to wait for a final decision on his petition. He will be given appropriate paperwork. Afterwards, if FMS rules in favor of his petition, he will be issued a refugee ID allowing him to remain in the Russian Federation for a year with full rights and privileges of a Russian citizen. 
 
 RT:Once Mr. Snowden is allowed to leave the airport, will he get accommodation or will he need to resolve this on his own? 
 
 
 
 AK: He will most likely be handling this on his own, but we agreed that he would consult with me. He asked me to be his lawyer, so I would not leave him. I would of course help him. In terms of his future fate, it is difficult to say in regards to his settling in and accommodation. Those are the questions he will need to resolve, once a decision on his legal status in Russia is made. 
 
 
 
 RT:You have stated today that Mr Snowden has promised to stop damaging the US’s reputation. Does that mean that he will halt his whistleblowing activities? 
 
 
 
 AK: We had also discussed this issue and he has assured me that President Putin’s request to stop his activity against the US is “attainable.” And it is an important question, because I believe that Mr Putin first of all understands that there’re state interests and there’re human rights. If all of this is weighed and measured, then of course human rights take the upper hand. They have to be more important. 
 
 
 
 And Russia’s humane approach in resolving this issue, without a doubt bears witness to the fact that no matter who or which country the individual comes from, in times of such difficult personal troubles, we have to act humanely toward that individual. Therefore, Mr Putin’s request in respect to the US and the overall Russian attitude signifies that we all have a good attitude towards the United States. 
 
 
 
 Of course there’re politicians that want to use certain issues for their personal advantage, but overall it is this request by Mr Putin that testifies that our good relations cannot be ruined by some nuances in domestic or foreign policy approaches. 
 
 
 
 I consider this question of vital importance and we need to understand it correctly, that today this issue had to be resolved. The issue was not being resolved only because Edward did not know how to act. Nobody could advise him, because being in the presence of airport employees, of course he understood that there had to be an expert, a lawyer who would advise him on how to correctly fill out the forms, which had plenty of questions, such as the place of birth, parent’s name, personal motivation statement. 
 
 
 
 And there, when asked a question by the FMS agent why he chose to file a petition in Russia and why he came here, he replied that he fears for his life and wellbeing, that he is also afraid of torture, and that he could get executed. And what he says sounds quite convincing, because the US still administers capital punishment and torture. 
 
 
 
 Therefore, I believe that under such circumstances and his written petition, it is necessary for him to be granted temporary asylum. I think it will be a humane step, and since Russia is acting humanly the US government cannot view it as a hostile step or hostile behavior toward the US. Because they have to understand that an individual faced with harsh life circumstances also needs refuge and protection from the state where it happens to be. 
 
 
 
 
 
 RT:Are the guarantees issued by Snowden temporary? Could he resume his activities after asylum is granted? 
 
 
 
 AK: You know, after talking to him for a while during our three meetings, I believe that he will be true to his word. Obviously, based on his moral stance he is a human rights activist, because yesterday and today we covered a number of questions that arise from everyday life both in Russia and US and in Europe. From his replies, I can understand that he is an adamant human rights activist and when he says that his past employment duties blatantly violated universal human rights, he says it sincerely. Because he, unlike someone else, understands that he used certain methods to spy on people, to read their communication. 
 
 
 
 To tell you the truth, the first time we met, when he met the human rights activists, he started his speech with “dear ladies and gentlemen, in front of you, you see an individual who until recently listened to your phone conversation and read your communications.” Therefore, I personally think that he is an ideologically driven person that thinks that it is unacceptable to violate universal human rights on such a large scale. 
 
 
 
 RT:Why do you think Mr Snowden has not yet decided whether or not he will travel to Latin America? 
 
 
 
 AK: I think now, his moral and psychological state requires him to understand how his fate will play out in the time to come. Because he, answering FMS’s questions, replied that he has never witnessed such persecution conducted by the US government in regards to other people. 
 
 
 
 This is disproportionate pressure. These are disproportionate requirements on behalf of the US government for us, Russia in regards to his deportation. There is no law in place that would require Russia to extradite him. I’ve addressed this question to our American colleagues asking them to name a legislative norm that would allow you to extradite Edward. There is no such law. There is no such clause in international law or our national law. 
 
 
 
 RT:Did you volunteer to help Edward Snowden? 
 
 
 
 AK: I volunteered for this but he took the initiative, he invited me and of course as a professional lawyer I could not leave a person in need and because I understood that to solve this stalemate, one needs to understand jurisprudence. I had to explain, first of all to him, the way our laws work, what it means to be granted this legal status, his rights, etc. The only reason he has been stuck there for so long is because he could not understand the process behind it. Authorities have no communication with him. He only talks to airport staff. 
 
 
 
 RT:Do you think Mr Snowden could stay in Russia? 
 
 
 
 I’m not eliminating this possibility because he told me that he would like to stay in Russia. He will become a citizen with all rights and privileges.
– Although journalists have been staking out Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport all week, no one has caught a glimpse of Edward Snowden, which means reporting on exactly what he's been doing there has been a little ... messy. Case in point: Multiple media agencies, including the New York Times and the Guardian are reporting today that Snowden has applied for political asylum in Russia, based on information from an official at the airport's consulate, who says that a WikiLeaks activist traveling with him delivered his request to the consulate last night. The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, says an anonymous Russian official claims Snowden applied for asylum to 15 different countries, but wouldn't say which countries they were. But the Russian Federal Migration Service denies that Snowden has applied for asylum, according to RT, which notes that a consular employee cannot make comments on behalf of the ministry. A presidential spokesperson also denied it had received the asylum request, RIA Novosti reports. So for now, the truth remains as elusive as Snowden himself. (Though he did just publish a statement saying Obama had left him "stateless.")