Snowden meets with rights groups, seeks temporary asylum in Russia

Moscow (CNN) -- American intelligence leaker Edward Snowden met with human rights activists and lawyers Friday in a transit zone of a Russian airport, in his first public appearance since he left Hong Kong on June 23.

The event prompted the White House to criticize Russia for giving Snowden a "propaganda platform," and later in the day, President Barack Obama spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The two leaders noted the importance of U.S.-Russian bilateral relations and discussed a range of security and bilateral issues, including the status of Mr. Edward Snowden and cooperation on counterterrorism in the lead-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics," a White House statement said.

Snowden told the activists he was requesting asylum from Russia while he awaited safe passage to Latin America, according to a transcript of Snowden's statement to the activists, issued via WikiLeaks.

(2013-07-12/cnn)