Snowden leaves airport after Russia grants asylum

August 1, 2013 at 1:30p.m.

MOSCOW (AP) - National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden left the transit zone of a Moscow airport and officially entered Russia after authorities granted him asylum for a year, his lawyer said today, a move that suggests the Kremlin isn’t shying away from further conflict with the United States. Snowden’s whereabouts will be kept a secret for security reasons, lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said, making it even harder to keep track of the former NSA systems analyst, who has been largely hiding out at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport since his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23.