BREAKING NEWS: Russia has extended the asylum of former National Security Agency (NSA) systems analysts, who turned whistleblower, Edward Snowden for three more years after the one year temporary asylum granted to the former American spy ran out last August 1.

Snowden's lawyer, Analtoly Kucherena, announced that Russia has granted his client the right to stay in the country for three more years.

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Kucherena's statement was carried by several Russian news agencies and China's state-owned media, the Xinhua News Agency Thursday afternoon.

The announcement came days after Snowden's lawyer submitted a package of documents asking for the extension of the temporary political asylum afforded by the Russian government to the NSA whistleblower.

On August 1, 2013, the Russian government, through the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) allowed the entry of Snowden, who broke the news about American espionage while he was in Hong Kong.

The FMS granted Snowed a one-year residency in the country and that permission expired last July 31.

On July 9, Snowden appealed to the Russian government to extend his stay for another year but Kucherena, in an interview with Russian media on Thursday, said it came as a surprise for the camp of Snowden that the request was not only granted but was even extended to three years.

The FMS has not issued a statement as of this posting. The US Government also has not issued a comment on the asylum extension of Snowden.