Fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden is still in the transit area at Moscow airport, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has confirmed.
Mr Putin said the intelligence leaker remained a free man, and the sooner he chose a destination the better.
But a White House spokeswoman said Russia had a “clear legal basis” to expel Mr Snowden.
Because Mr Snowden is in the airport’s pre-immigration area, he is technically not yet in Russian territory.
The Russians have rejected American charges that they have assisted Mr Snowden.
China has also rejected similar charges, saying accusations that it allowed him to leave Hong Kong despite a warrant for his arrest were “groundless and unacceptable”.
Mr Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday. He was expected to board a flight to the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Monday but never appeared.
The US has revoked Mr Snowden’s passport, and he has applied for asylum in Ecuador.
He is being supported by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, and is being accompanied by some of its legal advisers.
Ecuador is already giving political asylum at its London embassy to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
