Russia-US showdown over Snowden incident looks unlikely

It's good to see neither Russia nor the United States were swayed by impulsive feelings to face off with each other over the sensitive Snowden incident. Russia granted U.S. intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden only one year's temporary asylum, while White House spokesman Jay Carney avoided aggressive rhetoric after Moscow announced the decision. Letting Snowden in from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport could be considered the result of more than one months' wrestling between Moscow and Washington publicly and under the table. The Russian decision could not be seen as hasty given the arrogant U.S. attitude, as Washington did not submit any formal request to Moscow to extradite Snowden during the past 40 days. With the controversy raised by recent trial of U.S. Army private Bradley Manning, who was convicted of leaking information and faces up to 136 years in prison, it is not a bad public relations tactic for Moscow to grant asylum to Snowden. Nevertheless, the Snowden incident has so far been a hot topic rather than the "last straw" to break the back of the chronically-strained Russia-U.S. ties, as both sides share a wide range of practical interests. Some even suggest letting Snowden in and facilitating his eventual move to a third country could clear the way for the possible summit between Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama this September. Since the bilateral ties are now at such a low ebb that both sides differ deeply on the issues of missile defense, nuclear disarmament, international conflicts and counterterrorism, it is hard for them to get more worse. However, in this fundamentally inter-connected world, neither side would want to head back to the days of the Cold War. What's urgently needed now is for the United States to stop spying on citizens of other countries illegally, often under the excuse of fighting terrorism, and reflect on its wrong deeds.