MOSCOW (AFP) - Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has left Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for a safe location that will not be disclosed for security reasons, his lawyer said Thursday.

"He has gone to a safe place. I hope you will be understanding about this information," his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Rossiya 24 television, holding up a scanned copy of Snowden's certificate granting him a year's temporary asylum in Russia.

The lawyer added: "His location is not being made public for security reasons since he is the most pursued man on the planet. He himself will decide where he will go."