NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (REUTERS) - Ties between Russia and the United States will not suffer because of the "relatively insignificant" case of fugitive former US security contractor Edward Snowden, a senior Kremlin official said on Thursday.

"Our president has ... expressed hope many times that this will not affect the character of our relations," Yuri Ushakov told reporters, adding there was no sign that US President Barack Obama would cancel a planned visit to Moscow in September.