Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who leaked classified documents on American surveillance programmes, has appliedfor a dual American-Russian citizenship.

"After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual US-Russian citizenship," Xinhua news agency quoted Snowden as saying in a tweet on Monday.