Edward Snowden, who is a former US spy agency contractor and considered a traitor to the United States for leaking insider information, is seeking temporary political asylum in Russia. His current hideout in Hong Kong is also temporary, as Snowden wants to eventually settle in Latin America, preferably and ironically Cuba.

Snowden traveled to a Moscow airport in on June 23 from his hideout in Hong Kong, and has been stranded there since then. Snowden has not been able to leave the transit zone, and has asked lawyer Anatoly Kucherena to files his paperwork for temporary political asylum. Russian's President, Vladimir Putin, has said that Snowden's presence is Russia is unwelcome.

The US has blocked all other travel options for Snowden, leaving him stranded in Moscow, which was originally scheduled to only be a transit stop.

"We weren't his final destination. He was flying to other states. As soon as there's the change to move somewhere, he will certainly do this," Putin said.

Putin has also commented Russia's interested in granting asylum to Snowden, as long as he stops the leaks, which is a surprise as of support and loyalty to the US government on Putin's behalf. Putin's decision may be pressured by threats of persecution from the United States. Ultimately, Putin does not want to damage the current peaceful relationship with the United States, and will not allow the fugitive to provoke a decline in relations.

Despite Putin's claim that he will not grant asylum to Snowden, Snowden has made no commitment to stop the leaks in his request for asylum.

To date, Snowden continues to leak insider secrets thru his twitter account and other sources.

Snowden was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday by a Swedish sociology professor, Stefan Svallfors.

"Edward Snowden has - in a heroic effort at great personal cost - revealed the existence and extent of the surveillance, the U.S. government devotes electronic communications worldwide. By putting light on this monitoring program - conducted in contravention of national laws and international agreements - Edward Snowden has helped to make the world a little bit better and safer," Svallfors wrote.