Sergei Lavrov: Edward Snowden has not entered Russia

Russia says it has had no involvement in the travel plans of fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

The exact whereabouts of Mr Snowden, who flew to Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday, are unclear.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted he had not crossed the Russian border, BBC reports.

He criticised what he termed US attempts to blame Russia for his disappearance, saying they were "groundless and unacceptable".

Correspondents say Mr Lavrov's comments suggest that Mr Snowden remained air-side after landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, and so has technically never entered Russian territory.

"We are in no way involved with either Mr Snowden, his relations with US justice, nor to his movements around the world," Mr Lavrov said.

"He chose his itinerary on his own. We learnt about it... from the media. He has not crossed the Russian border.

"We consider the attempts to accuse the Russian side of violating US laws, and practically of involvement in a plot, to be absolutely groundless and unacceptable."

The 30-year-old IT expert is wanted by the US for revealing to the media details of a secret government surveillance programme, which he obtained while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.

Mr Snowden has applied for asylum in Ecuador. The US has revoked his passport.

Reuters news agency quotes a Moscow airport source as saying that Mr Snowden arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon and was due to depart for the Cuban capital, Havana, the following day, but did not use the ticket.

The source said he was travelling with Sarah Harrison, a British legal researcher working for the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks.

Meanwhile, China has also described US accusations that it facilitated the departure of fugitive Edward Snowden from Hong Kong as "groundless and unacceptable".

A foreign ministry spokeswoman said the Hong Kong government had handled the former US intelligence officer's case in accordance with the law.

The White House had criticised what it termed "a deliberate choice to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant".