BURBANK, CA — President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he was “disappointed” that Russia had granted temporary asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, defying Obama administration demands that the former government contractor be sent back to the U. S. to face espionage charges. Pres. Obama, in his first comments about Snowden since Russia’s decision last week, said the move reflected the “underlying challenges” he faces in dealing with Moscow.

“There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality.” Snowden, an ex-NSA systems analyst, is accused of leaking details about highly-secretive government surveillance programs. He spent several weeks in the transit zone of a Moscow airport before being granted asylum for a year. Russia’s decision has pushed the White House to reconsider Pres. Obama’s plans to travel to Russia in September.