MOSCOW (AFP) - US leaker Edward Snowden, who has been staying in a Moscow airport's transit zone for a week, has applied for political asylum in Russia, a Russian foreign ministry official at the airport said on Monday.

"At 10.30 pm (1830 GMT) yesterday (Sunday), British citizen Sarah Harrison turned up at the consulate department at Sheremetyevo airport and submitted a request from Snowden about granting him asylum," Sheremetyevo airport consular officer Kim Shevchenko, told AFP.

Sarah Harrison is an employee of anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, who accompanied Mr Snowden on his trip from Hong Kong.