Snowden Denies Taking NSA Files To Russia

Edward Snowden has said he did not take any secret National Security Agency documents with him to Russia, telling a newspaper "it wouldn't serve the public interest".

In an interview with The New York Times, the former NSA analyst said he handed over all material to journalists during his stay in Hong Kong and that he did not keep copies for himself.

China and Russia could not get access to the documents he had obtained before leaving the US, he insisted.

Snowden, who worked for a contractor as a systems administrator at an NSA facility, said he was able to protect the documents from Chinese agencies because he was familiar with Beijing's intelligence capabilities.

"There's a zero per cent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents," he told the paper.

The US has faced protests at home and abroad over its spying operations

Snowden's leaks of highly classified material have unveiled US surveillance activities at home and abroad, sparking debate about the privacy implications for Americans.

In the Times interview, Snowden described himself as a whistleblower who was acting in the nation's best interests by revealing information about the NSA's programmes.

"The secret continuance of these programmes represents a far greater danger than their disclosure," he said in the interview, which took place over several days and involved encrypted online communications.

Snowden said he feels he has boosted US national security by prompting a public debate about the scope of US data collection.

"So long as there's broad support amongst a people, it can be argued there's a level of legitimacy even to the most invasive and morally wrong programme, as it was an informed and willing decision," he said.

"However, programmes that are implemented in secret, out of public oversight, lack that legitimacy, and that's a problem."

Snowden, 30, has polarised opinion in the US, where some consider him a civil rights hero who wants to empower citizens, and others a traitor who stole secrets after vowing to protect them.

Snowden, who faces espionage charges in the US, is now in Russia, which granted him asylum for one year.

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