Snowden spoke about his current job and his relationship with the Russian authorities.

Former employee of the US National Security Agency Edward Snowdenwho revealed to the world the secrets of the American special services and was granted asylum in Russia, manifested itself after a six-month absence in the information space. During the video link from Russia, organized at the University of Management of the Austrian city of Innsbruck, he told how he feels in Russia and what he does. He writes about it News.ru.

Photo: ria.ru video frame

“As for my future in Russia, I cannot say that I am safe,” TASS quotes him as saying. - But does it matter? If I wanted to live in safety, I would sit in Hawaii, earn a lot of money and spy on everyone.”

Snowden said that he currently runs one of the American foundations to protect media freedom and is working on creating new tools to protect journalists.

“It’s also about protecting information sources from outside interference,” explained the former NSA employee.

Late last year, Snowden unveiled his personal security app, Heaven. Ironically, it turns the phone into a surveillance device - something he consistently opposes.

At the same time, Snowden said during the current teleconference that he does not work for the authorities of the Russian Federation and is not connected with them at all.

“The reality is that I have no ties to the Russian government,” Snowden said. “I criticized them, and the president, and the course of the elections, and will continue to do so.”

“My attention is not focused on Russia, because Russia is not my homeland, I live here in exile,” he noted. “The United States will always be my homeland, and we need to do a better job of taking care of our community first.”

Edward Snowden is a former NSA employee, thanks to whom the public learned about the electronic surveillance programs of Americans around the world. In June 2013, Snowden gave secret data to The Washington Post and The Guardian newspapers, which indicated that US intelligence agencies were listening to telephone conversations and monitoring email correspondence of US citizens and world leaders.

Fearing the persecution of the American authorities, Snowden flew to Hong Kong, and later ended up in Moscow. In August 2014, he received a three-year residence permit in Russia, which was renewed for another two years at the end of January 2017. In the US, Snowden is accused of espionage, he faces up to 30 years in prison.

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