Snowden not yet allowed to leave Moscow airport, lawyer says

Several reports Wednesday morning said that Edward Snowden was preparing to leave the Moscow airport where he has been stuck for a month.

Anatoly Kucherena, his Russian attorney, said that Snowden is not allowed to leave the airport just yet. Snowden met with Kucherena earlier this week, where he gave Snowden a copy of "Crime and Punishment" and a change of clothes.

According to Russian media, the U.S. intelligence leaker was issued a document that would allow him to wait elsewhere in Russia while his request for temporary asylum was considered.

After meeting with Snowden in the airport's transit area, however, Kucherena said that Snowden had not yet received the document. Until he does, he will have to stay in the Sheremetyevo International Airport.

That certificate still could come at "any time," Kucherena said. But the ruling on whether he is granted temporary asylum, which he applied for July 16, could take months.

If he is granted temporary asylum, he has not decided whether he would move elsewhere later. He has been granted asylum from several Latin American countries and has hinted at wanting to go there, but with airspace restricted by the United States and its allies, it could be difficult for Snowden to move out of the country.