Moscow, July 17: Snowden, who is wanted by Washington for leaking details of U.S. intelligence programs, is seeking temporary asylum in Russia after spending more than three weeks at a Moscow airport trying to fly to a country that will shelter him.

Allowing the American to stay in Russia even temporarily would upset Washington. But a refusal would open Putin to criticism at home that he has not stood up to Moscow's former Cold War enemy, even though he has refused to extradite Snowden.

Asked during a visit to the eastern Siberian town of Chita whether the affair would cast a shadow over a U.S.-Russia summit due in September in Moscow, Putin told reporters on Wednesday: "Bilateral relations, in my opinion, are far more important than squabbles about the activities of the secret services."

Putin did not say whether Russia would grant Snowden's temporary asylum request, but made clear he was still insisting the American must agree to do nothing to harm the United States.

"We warned Mr Snowden that any action by him that could cause damage to Russian-American relations is unacceptable for us," Putin said.

Russia would take an independent decision when deciding on Snowden's fate, but maintaining relations with Washington was also a "national objective", the president added.

Snowden is useful as a propaganda tool for Putin, who accuses the U.S. government of preaching to the world about rights and freedoms it does not uphold at home.

But Putin wants the summit with Obama to go ahead and both countries have signaled they want better relations, strained by issues ranging from the Syrian conflict to Putin's treatment of opponents since he started a six-year third term in 2012.

A lawyer helping Snowden with his asylum request said on Tuesday that he had given him a verbal promise that he would stop activities directed against the United States.