MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former United States spy agency contractor Edward Snowden could leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport within a week, a Russian lawyer said on Wednesday.

Mr Anatoly Kucherena, who is helping Snowden with his request for temporary asylum in Russia, told Reuters he believed the American would be able to leave the transit zone at Sheremetyevo, which Moscow considers neutral territory, and indicated he expected him to stay in Russia for the time being.