"There are some things worth dying for," Edward Snowden tells NBC News anchor, Brian Williams, in an exclusive interview conducted in Moscow, the Guardian reports.

In the interview, Snowden shared his chief motivation for going against the U.S. government and leaking some 1.7 million confidential intelligence documents to the public was because he wanted to help the country.

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In the past months, Snowden has been living in Russia where the country had granted him temporary asylum. He had intended to fly to Latin America before the U.S. had revoked his passport and charged him with espionage.

More than anything, Snowden said he would love to go back home but knows that it would not be happening, at least for now. When he made the decision to leak top secret government files, he knew the possibility of remaining in the U.S. as a free man was near to impossible.

"My priority is not about myself. It's about making sure that these programs are reformed - and that the family that I left behind, the country that I left behind - can be helped by my actions," he said.

Snowden also criticized the government for exploiting the 9/11 attack to rationalize their use of invasive surveillance techniques at the cost of freedom.

He spoke of his experience during the September 11^th terror attack when he heard on the radio that the planes had hit. During that day, he also remembered thinking about his grandfather who was with the FBI at the time and was in the Pentagon.

"I take the threat of terrorism seriously. And I think we all do," he said.

Some critics allege that Snowden is working with the Russian government. Secretary of State John Kerry described Snowden as a "coward" and "traitor," according to Time.

Snowden defended that he has never met the Russian president nor does he have any affiliation or relationship with the Russian government.

Snowden said he suffered no regrets from his decision. Ultimately, the knowledge that he did the right thing helps him deal with the things he had to give up to do so.

TagsEdward Snowden, patriot, whistleblower, hacking, US surveillance, information technology, NSA, CIA, NSA surveillance