National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has been approved and has left a Moscow airport, Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told CNN on Thursday.
Snowden has legal status in Russia for one year, but the attory would not disclose his location, citing security reason.
WikiLeaks tweeted "we would like to thank the Russian people and all those others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the battle -- now the war."
In an enormous setback for the U.S.'s relationship with Moscow, The Russian government "has been signaling... for some time" that it planned to grant Snowden temporary asylum, a U.S. official told CNN. "I don't think it's a shock."
The U.S. national security agencies are hoping to continue cooperation with Russia on counterterrorism matters, despite this setback. The two countries have already begun cooperating on security for 2014 Sochi Olympic games.
Snowden is reportedly in good health, according to his father who also said that his lawyer was seeking a positive ending to the crisis.
"There may be a time where it would be constructive to try and meet and see whether there can't be common ground that everyone agrees would advance the interest, the United States, Mr. Snowden, Lon, his father, and the interest of Russia in trying to resolve this in a way that honors due process and the highest principles of fairness and civilization," attorney Bruce Fein said.
The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald broke news of the NSA programs on the surveillance of phone and Internet metadata after Snowden leaked the information. The NSA data collecting scheme allows intelligence agents to see everything a citizen has done on the Internet. Officials are able to observe browsing history and emails at ease, news reports said.
Washington lawmakers have built a criminal case against Snowden, citing him for violating the Espionage Act.
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