text: MOSCOW Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden's father arrived in Moscow on Thursday to see his son, who was granted asylum in Russia after leaking details of government surveillance programs. 
   
   Speaking at Sheremetyevo airport, where his fugitive son was stranded for weeks this summer, Lon Snowden said he had no direct contact with Edward Snowden for months, but felt "extreme gratitude that my son is safe and secure and he's free". 
   
   The younger Snowden, 30, is wanted in the United States on espionage charges and Russia's decision to grant him temporary asylum aggravated already tense relations between Moscow and Washington. 
   
   Russian authorities and the Russian lawyer who is assisting Snowden, Anatoly Kucherena, have not disclosed his location. 
   
   "I am his father, I love my son and I certainly hope I will have an opportunity to see my son," Lon Snowden said. He told reporters he was "not sure my son will be returning to the U.S. again". 
   
   Snowden's revelations about the reach and methods of the U.S. National Security Agency, including the monitoring of vast volumes of Internet traffic and phone records, have upset U.S. allies from Germany to Brazil. They sparked an international furore, with admirers calling him a human rights champion and critics denouncing him as a traitor. 
   
   JOB SEARCH 
   
   Lon Snowden said he did not know his son's intentions, but believed he had not been involved in the publication of any information since he arrived in Russia and was "simply trying to remain healthy and safe". 
   
   Directly from the airport, he and the lawyer drove to a state television studio to give an exclusive live interview, indicating the visit was under strong government control. 
   
   Kucherena expressed hope the former intelligence contractor would soon find a job in Russia - possibly in IT or the human rights sector - because he had largely run out of savings and was living modestly, mainly off donations. 
   
   He said the American was living under security and avoiding publicity because of the U.S. chase after him. 
   
   Kucherena later said father and son would meet on Thursday but that Lon Snowden would first have to travel "quite a number of kilometers", echoing previous coy statements intended to keep people guessing about the younger Snowden's location. 
   
   He said that Lon Snowden would be in Russia for a few days and "as he is here for the first time, I have prepared an entire program so that he can meet with his son and get more closely acquainted with our country," state newswire Itar-Tass reported. 
   
   Snowden, who worked as a systems administrator at a U.S. National Security Agency facility in Hawaii, fled to Hong Kong in June and then flew to Moscow. 
   
   President Vladimir Putin rejected U.S. pleas to hand him over, but denied Russia had any role in Snowden's disclosures or that its intelligence agencies were working with him in any way. He has used the case to accuse the United States of preaching to the world about rights and freedoms it does not uphold at home. 
   
   (Additional reporting by Alessandra Prentice and Gabriela Baczynska; Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lon Snowden says he is extremely thankful to Russia for granting asylum to his son 
   
   The father of fugitive former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden is in Russia to visit his son. 
   
   Lon Snowden told journalists in Moscow he felt "extreme gratitude that my son is safe and secure and he's free". He later met his son, local media say. 
   
   Edward Snowden was granted asylum in Russia in August after weeks spent in a transit zone at Moscow airport when the US revoked his travel documents. 
   
   The 30-year-old leaked many thousands of US intelligence documents. 
   
   The information, published in The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers, revealed extensive internet and phone surveillance by both US and British intelligence. 
   
   In the US, Edward Snowden faces charges of theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified intelligence. 
   
   Each of the charges carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. 
   
   Meanwhile, Edward Snowden met four former US security officials in Russia late on Wednesday, it has emerged. 
   
   The officials - who now campaign against what they describe as the misuse of state secrecy - said they had presented Mr Snowden with the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence award. The award is given annually by a group of retired CIA officers. 
   
   The officials told Russian media Mr Snowden had no regrets about leaking the classified files and was convinced he had done the right thing. 
   
   "He's remarkably centred," ex-FBI agent Coleen Rowley told state-funded RT television. 
   
   'Legal options' 
   
   Lon Snowden, arriving at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday, was met by his son's Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena. 
   
   Image caption Edward Snowden is living in a secret location in Russia 
   
   "I'm here to learn more about my son's situation," Mr Snowden told reporters. "My hope is to learn more about his circumstances and his health and to discuss legal options." 
   
   "If the opportunity presents itself, I certainly hope that I have the opportunity to see my son," he said in televised remarks. 
   
   "I'm not sure that my son will be returning to the US. That's his decision, he's an adult." 
   
   Lon Snowden later visited his son, but the place and time of the meeting "are not being been revealed for security reasons", said Russia's state-run TV channels Rossiya 24 and Channel One. 
   
   Lon Snowden has in the past praised his son for speaking "the truth" and making great sacrifices, and has spoken of his concern that he would not face a fair trial if he returned to the US. 
   
   Edward Snowden accessed many of the documents while working for the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton in Hawaii, where he had been living with his girlfriend. 
   
   As the revelations became public, Mr Snowden fled to Hong Kong where, with his consent, The Guardian revealed his identity in June. 
   
   To escape US attempts to extradite him, Mr Snowden moved on to Russia where he remained in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport until Russia granted him asylum. 
   
   Russia's move added to already tense relations with the US. Washington cancelled a bilateral summit in September. ||||| Moscow (CNN) -- The father of NSA leaker Edward Snowden told reporters in Moscow that he thinks his son deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. 
   
   He arrived there Thursday for his first visit with his son since the former government IT contractor fled the United States after leaking National Security Agency spy program details to the media. 
   
   Members of the European Parliament nominated Snowden in September for the Andrei Sakharov Prize, which honors figures who stand up to oppressive powers. The prize was awarded to Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai on Thursday. 
   
   "Edward took the Sakharov prize nomination very calmly," Lon Snowden told reporters at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. "He wanted to expose the injustices in the American system, and wasn't doing it with any awards in mind." 
   
   Edward Snowden collected information on spy programs, in which the NSA mined phone and Internet metadata from thousands of people inside and outside of the United States. He exposed the program to the media. 
   
   Anticipating legal consequences, he initially fled to Hong Kong in late May but flew to Moscow on June 23. He was holed up at the airport for more than five weeks. U.S. authorities have charged him with espionage and theft of government property. 
   
   Snowden received asylum in Russia on August 1 and left the airport. 
   
   Snowden's father: 'I know my son. I know he loves his country' 
   
   Low profile 
   
   Lon Snowden's visit to Russia seems shrouded in mystery, as Edward Snowden is keeping information about himself close to the vest. 
   
   "I've had no direct contact with my son despite previous reports, so I really have no idea what his intentions are," Lon Snowden told reporters at the airport. 
   
   Snowden the son has kept a low profile, apparently not even telling his father where in Russia he is living. 
   
   "I cannot answer the question if Edward is in Moscow," Lon Snowden said. "I don't know that. I haven't been informed where Edward is right now." 
   
   His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, also has not disclosed Snowden's location. But he told reporters that he had met with him Wednesday. 
   
   It appears that Snowden is settling in to his new surroundings. 
   
   He has been living from savings and donations but has had some job offers, Kucherena said. 
   
   "I am confident that he would find a high-paying job. He is very capable." He is also learning Russian and soaking in Russian culture, Kucherena said. 
   
   And he has a girlfriend. 
   
   The lawyer earlier told reporters that Edward Snowden may hold a news conference soon, but later reversed that, saying the former contractor had no intention of speaking publicly. 
   
   Since the movie "The Fifth Estate" came out, which is based on the experiences of WikiLeaker Julian Assange, producers have contacted Snowden about telling his story on film. 
   
   But he does not seem interested at the time. 
   
   Defending his son 
   
   As in the past, Lon Snowden defended his son's actions Thursday, calling him a "whistle-blower" who is "not leaking information." 
   
   "I don't think the American public knows all the details of what my son did," he said. 
   
   Snowden has said that he does not expect his son to receive a fair trial in the United States and would not want him to come home, until that changes. 
   
   "I'm not sure that my son will be returning to the U.S. again. That's his decision. He is an adult," the elder Snowden told reporters. 
   
   He thanked the Russian people and President Vladimir Putin for taking his son in. "I consider Edward to be absolutely safe in Russia. He is comfortable here," he said. 
   
   Lon Snowden has received a visa for multiple entries into the country. "I hope to return to Russia many times," he said. 
   
   Father Lon carefully separated his own interests from Edward Snowden's, speaking of getting on with his own life in the United States, while his son moves on with his in Russia. 
   
   But he in no way distanced himself from the younger Snowden. 
   
   He told reporters: "I am his father. I love my son." 
   
   Snowden: My father and his legal team do not speak for me 
   
   CNN's Boriana Milanova contributed to this report.
target: – With Edward Snowden's lawyer in tow, dad Lon Snowden arrived in Russia early today in the hope of seeing his fugitive son. "I am his father, I love my son, and I certainly hope I will have an opportunity to see my son," he told Reuters, though his real purpose is "to learn more about his circumstances and his health and to discuss legal options," the BBC reports. Speaking from the same airport in which Edward Snowden was stranded for weeks, Lon said he wasn't in contact with his son, but noted a reunion in the US was unlikely. "I am not sure my son will be returning to the US again," he noted. "That's his decision." Neither the elder Snowden, nor his son's Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, would give any details about when and where a meeting would take place, but Kucherena did share some details of Edward's new life in Russia. He still hasn't found a job and is living modestly, mostly on donations since he's run out of his savings, Reuters notes. As to reports of NSA leaks to come: "I really have no idea what his intentions are," Lon Snowden said, but as of now, he is "not leaking information," CNN reports.