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Argentina’s President Met with Edward Snowden in Moscow, Report Says

When Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner visited Moscow in April to meet with Vladimir Putin, she also met with whistleblower Edward Snowden over concerns of British spying on her country, a new report says.
Imagen por Alexander Nemenov/AP

In secret, and sparked by the espionage documents against her country that he revealed, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met with US whistleblower Edward Snowden during her visit in April to Russia, a newspaper in Buenos Aires said.

"President Fernandez de Kirchner is the first chief of state to meet with Snowden," Anthony Romero, director of the American Civil Liberties Union and one of Snowden's lawyers, told the Buenos Aires Herald in a report published Thursday.

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No specific date or details were published about the meeting and Argentina's government remained mum about the report today. But what is known is that it happened just days after the Argentine news site TN revealed a British espionage program in Argentina.

The secret surveillance operation was allegedly carried out over Britain's fear of the South American country's possible recovery of the Falklands Islands, the source of simmering tension between the UK and Argentina since the end of their war over the islands in 1982.

According to the site, British spies were collecting information on the Falklands, as well as of high-ranking executive and military officials in Argentinabetween at least 2008 and 2011. The revelations prompted Argentina's government to request an explanation at the time from the British ambassador John Freeman.

Related: Exclusive: Inside Washington's Quest to Bring Down Edward Snowden

Argentine federal officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Buenos Aires Herald story. Kirchner and members of her cabinet have so far made no public statements on the alleged meeting.

Fernandez de Kirchner, together with Axel Kicillof, her economy minister, Julio de Vido, her planning minister, and Hector Timerman, her foreign minister, traveled to Moscow between April 18 and April 24 to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Russian businessmen.

"Snowden had a meeting with president Fernandez de Kirchner, and they talked for more than an hour. I don't know why she hasn't publicly spoken about it," Romero told the newspaper.

He added that Snowden was "delighted" by his meeting with the president.

On Thursday, VICE News reported on declassified documents that proved US elected officials sought to discredit Snowden in the public eye after he leaked information about United States surveillance programs over its citizens and foreign governments all across the world.

Related: The Death of a Prosecutor: Argentina's Kirchner Accuses Nisman of Ties to Vulture Fund Manager

Follow @VICENews on Twitter for updates on Argentina and Edward Snowden.