Putin: NSA Surveillance Necessary for Counterterrorism

Despite his country’s apparent welcome of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, Russian president Vladimir Putin has gone on to claim that the agency’s surveillance activities are necessary for counterterrorism efforts. At the annual press conference in Moscow where he was quoted, Putin said that while the activity needed to be limited with “clear rules”, that the NSA’s work should not be vilified. Putin went on to claim that the NSA was suffering from the backlog of data it collected on a daily basis and that the US government must “limit the appetite [of the NSA].” With regards to Snowden, Putin admits that he hasn’t met the American fugitive yet, but that he would lose refuge in Russia if he chose to work against American interests.