Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of trapping intelligence whistleblower, Edward Snowden in Russia, saying that he is free to go where he wants as soon as he is able to do so.

President Putin also blamed the U.S. for not allowing him to enter Russia on June 23 on his exit from Hong Kong.

"He arrived on our territory uninvited, he did not fly to us, he was flying transit to other countries," Putin said during a TV interview. "But as soon as he was in the air, it became known, and our American partners essentially blocked off his further flight," reports Agence France Presse.

President Putin criticized that the U.S. had scared off the other nations who were interested in offering asylum to Snowden. "They have spooked all the other countries, nobody wants to take him and in that way, in fact, they have themselves blocked him on our territory," reported BBC News

Now he is stuck in Russia, Mr. Putin told Russian news agencies, adding, "a Christmas gift for us."

Answering reporters about what would happen to Snowden, Mr. Putin replied, "How would I know? That's his fate."

Snowden is believed to have changed his plans by applying for asylum to Russia, before heading off to a country in Latin America. Venezuela, Bolivia and other Latin American countries have offered asylum to the former NSA contractor. However, claims of his acceptance of an application to Venezuela were rumours.

Mr. Putin said that Snowden is aware of his rights for applying for asylum, although he is not aware of an asylum application to Russia.

Snowden told human rights groups that he would refrain from leaking sensitive intelligence information from the U.S. On this condition, President Putin said he would not hand over the fugitive to the U.S., who wants to charge Snowden for giving away classified information.