German counterintelligence: Snowden is a part of Kremlin’s war against the West
The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany (counterintelligence), Hans-Georg Maassen, admits that ex-officer of the U.S. special services Edward Snowden is an agent of the Russian special services. Maassen made it clear that he has reasons to consider Snowden's activity a "part of the hybrid war led by Russia against the West".
In turn, Snowden, in an interview with the Spiegel newspaper, claimed that he was not a Russian spy.
"He [Maassen] did not even have the courage to say that I'm a Russian spy. Instead, he said that we cannot prove that Snowden is a Russian agent; there is only some "likelihood." In fact, this can be said about everyone," Snowden added.
In June 2013, Snowden handed over a number of secret materials about the U.S. and British intelligence agencies’ programs for surveillance on the Internet to the Washington Post and the Guardian. He flew to Hong Kong and from there to Moscow. In August 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit in Russia. In January 2017, the residence permit for Snowden was extended until 2020.