Putin is maintaining the moral high ground while using the exact same language the US is.

Savvy.

If Russia has a constitutional government with limited powers (which, I think, on paper it does, whatever it may otherwise do in practice), not having a legal basis to detain and hand him over may, legally at least, prevent them from detaining him and handing him over.

It wouldn't surprise me if, on paper at least, being compelled by the government to pass out of the area not requiring a visa was not an immigration offense.

It also isn't surprising to me that the government of a sovereign state isn't particularly interested in going out of their way to game their own legal systems to make the government of a geopolitical rival who is publicly threatening them look less impotent and ineffectual.

So I'm not entirely sure how this squares up with my anecdote, but flying from Sydney, Australia to Vancouver, Canada (did, at some point) require stopping in Honolulu to refuel and take on passengers.

At that point in the journey, passengers were (are?) required to get off the plane and pass through US immigration to continue their flight on to Canada. I know of at least one passenger that was refused passage through US immigration at that point (even though she was forced to go through it and her final destination was not the US) and so she was not allowed to continue.

Like I say, I don't really know how that quite squares up with your comment, but I thought it was "interestingly similar", maybe?

When I was in London, 2002, a Chinese national living there wanted to attend a solidarity camp in El Salvador, in august 2002, organized by the hall of residence I was living in. The flight had a single scale in the US (probably Florida but who knows, it was not a 'stay', just a scale). BOWM: travel forbidden.

Uhu? What?

Just that. NO WAY you are going to fly to El Salvador via the US.

Mmmhh I call that being terrorized.

Here is my crude translation of the relevant part:

"Considering possible extradition somewhere, we can extradite people only to the countries which have extradition treaty with us. We don't have such agreement with the USA. Snowden haven't committed any crimes in the territory of Russia".

Note: Putin hasn't used the exact formal term "extradition". So he may have spoken of some other type of agreement.

"Considering possible extradition somewhere, we can extradite people only to the countries which have extradition treaty with us. We don't have such agreement with the USA. Snowden haven't committed any crimes in the territory of Russia, thanks God".

Putin's cynicism?

Maybe no direct flights and other transit countries might arrest him?

The originally announced path was: HK -> Russia -> Havana -> Venezuela (probably: -> Ecuador).

I am wondering if the US pressed hard on Cuba and if Snowden can reach Ecuador on a private plane.