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National Security Agency leak source Edward Snowden has accepted an offer of political asylum from Venezuela, the AP is reporting, citing a tweet from a top Russian lawmaker.
But the tweet, from senior Russian State Duma (parliament) official Aleksey Pushkov, now appears to be deleted.
"Predictably, Snowden has agreed to [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro’s offer of political asylum. Apparently, this option appeared most reliable to Snowden," Pushkov tweeted, according to a translation of the tweet.
Here's a screenshot of the tweet:
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Pushkov subsequently tweeted that his prior tweet about Snowden was based off information from Vesti 24, a Russian news channel.
Later, WikiLeaks, which has claimed to be advising Snowden, tweeted that he has not formally accepted asylum anywhere:
Edward #Snowden has not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela. The Russian law maker concerned has deleted the tweet.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 9, 2013
Snowden has asylum offers from three Latin American countries — Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua.
This development, of course, would not solve all of Snowden's problems, considering there's still the matter of getting to Venezuela.
This post has been updated.
SEE ALSO: If Snowden Takes Asylum In Venezuela, It Would Be A Staggering Act Of Hypocrisy
