Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Russia extended Edward Snowden's leave to remain in the country until 2020, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Maria Zakharova confirmed the extension of Snowden's invitation to stay in Russia after former acting CIA director Michael Morell suggested in an opinion column on the website The Cipher Brief that Russian President Vladimir Putin should consider returning Snowden to the United States as the "perfect inauguration gift" to President-elect Donald Trump.