•  Zworf   ( @Zworf@beehaw.org ) 
    link
    fedilink
    4
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Does he really? I think it’s more like he got stuck there on his way to Ecuador and now he has no alternative but to “like” Putin :P

    After all his plan was never to stay in Russia.

      •  Zworf   ( @Zworf@beehaw.org ) 
        link
        fedilink
        5
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        I know… But the point is, he’s stuck there.

        He had 2 choices:

        • Play ball and swear his oath and suck up a little to the godfather and live happily ever after
        • Kick up a stink against Putin and find himself falling out of a closed window (or, best case, being deported and spending his days in a max security prison).

        It’s not really like “free will” applies here :)

        Whatever the lawyer said is just the minimum required decorum IMO. Just politics. The oath is probably simply required to get the passport.

        Putin got to get one-over on the US and Snowden got to stay out of prison (well, in reality a really huge prison but still…). It’s a marriage of convenience.