The US intelligence whistleblower, Edward Snowden, has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, according to his lawyer. The former National Security Agency (NSA) worker has been holed up at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport since June 23rd after leaking details of US surveillance programmes.

Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said he had met Snowden on Tuesday and "the application has been filed with the Russian authorities".

Wikileaks, the whistleblowing website, has been supporting Snowden and confirmed in a post on Twitter "Edward Snowden today has filed for a temporary protection visa with Russia's ministry of immigration."

Edward Snowden today has filed for a temporary protection visa with Russia's ministry of immigration. #snowen #nsa #prism

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 16, 2013

Washington has urged Moscow to return the 30-year-old to the US, where he is wanted on espionage charges after revealing details of secret surveillance programmes.

Speaking to human rights activists last week, after three weeks of silence, Snowden said he planned to apply for temporary asylum in Russia until he had won "safe passage" to Latin America, where three countries have offered him political asylum.

Snowden has been able to remain at the airport transit lounge for so long after fleeing Hong Kong, because technically it is not Russian territory. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that Snowden can only stay in Russia if he "stops damaging our US partners".

However, a Kremlin spokesman said shortly after the asylum bid that the final decision on the matter did not rest with the president. On Monday, Mr. Putin accused the US of "trapping" Snowden in Russia, saying no other country wanted to take him because of pressure exerted by America.

Snowden has consistently made it clear that he does not intend to stay in Russia but eventually wants to move to a Latin American country.

However, the prospects of him successfully travelling there appear limited.