MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Russian social media mogul Pavel Durov has offered a job to Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked details of a spying program.
The day after Snowden was granted one year's asylum in Russia after spending weeks holed up in the Moscow airport Durov offered him a job at VKontakte, a Facebook-like alternative popular in eastern Europe that claims 100 million active users.
Durov, 28, often referred to as Russia's Mark Zuckerberg, said he would like Snowden to help protect users' personal data.
Snowden has not indicated whether he plans to take the job, CNN reported Monday.
Snowden had said he was earning about $200,000 a year before his GSA leak, though his last employer, consulting firm Booz Allen says it was about $120,000, Politico reported in June. Voice of Russia reported during the weekend that a Russian recruiting expert said Snowden could command a salary at least in the $100,000 range.
Durov praised Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to offer Snowden asylum.
"In such moments one feels pride with our country and regret over the course taken by United States -- a country betraying the principles it was once built on," he said.
Meanwhile, the fate of a scheduled meeting between Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama remains in question.
An NBC News report Sunday said Obama had decided to scrap the meeting but RIA Novosti reported Russian officials are carrying on as planned and said no changes will be made to the meeting itinerary in light of the Snowden situation.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said last week Obama is "evaluating the utility" of the meeting, scheduled to take place before a G20 meeting scheduled in St. Petersburg next month.
