Snowden Issue Strains International Relations

With Edward Snowden on the move from Hong Kong To Russia, relationships between both countries and the US have become tense. Although there is an extradition treaty between the USA and Hong Kong, they failed to arrest Snowden, citing incomplete paperwork issued by Washington. China has said it is very concerned over claims by Mr. Snowden that the United States hacked Chinese IT targets.

US Senator Charles Schumer has stated that Vladimir Putin knew and approved of Snowden’s flight to Russia and that this could cause serious problems in US-Russian relations.

“Putin always seems almost eager to stick a finger in the eye of the United States – whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden.” The Senator told CNN.

Ed Snowden has applied for asylum in Ecuador, something the country at this point is considering. Ecuador has been sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at their London Embassy for a year and it seems likely they will shelter Snowden.

Along with Venezuela and Cuba, Ecuador is a member of the ALBA bloc, a group of leftist governments in Latin America that are known for and pride themselves on their ‘anti-imperialist’ stance.

The United States has revoked Snowden’s passport and as such has requested that he be denied onward international travel.

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Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple where this article first appeared. Wake the flock up!