Berlin ( CNN ) -- A German lawmaker who met Edward Snowden in Moscow on Thursday said Friday that the National Security Agency leaker offered to testify in front of the U.S. Congress . `` He did n't present himself as an enemy of America , quite the opposite , '' German member of parliament Hans-Christian Stroebele told reporters in Berlin Friday . Stroebele said he had suggested Snowden testify before German lawmakers and that the former NSA contractor responded that in fact he wants to testify in Washington . Snowden said he might go to Germany , if he gets assurances that he could stay in a safe place afterward without being deported to the United States , said Stroebele , a well-known leftist legislator in Germany . However , Snowden 's attorney , Anatoly Kucherena , told reporters in Moscow that his client would not be leaving Russia to testify on the U.S. spying allegations . Kucherena said he would advise Snowden not to testify at all if it is not in his client 's best interest . Snowden has been in Moscow since June , having fled there from Hong Kong . In August , after he spent five weeks holed up at Moscow 's Sheremetyevo International Airport , Russia granted him asylum for one year . Snowden : 'Heartened by the response ' Stroebele returned from the meeting with Snowden on Thursday with a letter from the NSA leaker to German authorities , which was distributed to the media . In the letter , Snowden says he is `` looking forward to speaking '' with German authorities in Germany `` when the situation is resolved '' -- a reference to the current efforts by the United States to extradite him . Snowden also wrote that he was `` heartened by the response to my act of political expression , in both the United States and beyond . `` Citizens around the world as well as high officials -- including in the United States -- have judged the revelation of an unaccountable system of pervasive surveillance to be a public service . '' The benefits of this knowledge to society are becoming increasingly clear , and the `` claimed risks are being shown to have been mitigated , '' he added . Stroebele said he did n't know if Snowden had sent a similar letter to other governments in Latin America or elsewhere . The United States has charged Snowden with espionage and theft of government property . The 30-year-old collected information on spy programs -- in which the National Security Agency mined phone and Internet metadata from thousands of people inside and outside the United States -- and exposed the programs to the media , prompting uproar at home and abroad . German outrage . Snowden 's letter to German authorities comes amid outrage among many German leaders about claims that an NSA surveillance operation targeted German Chancellor Angela Merkel 's cell phone . Snowden `` is an important witness for Germany , '' said Stroebele . But asked if Snowden could testify to German authorities via video link from Moscow , Stroebele said that could be problematic for several reasons . He suggested Snowden would be more limited in what he could say if he were in Moscow than if he were in Germany . So long as Snowden has asylum in Russia , he needs to avoid doing anything that would negatively affect his status there , the lawmaker said . In his closing remarks , Stroebele said that although the United States believes that Snowden has committed a serious offense , he believes he should not be penalized because his revelations have benefited the world . Stroebele also said Snowden , who was due to start a new job in Russia on Friday , appeared to be in good health . Kucherena told CNN on Thursday that the job was with a major Russian website but declined to give the employer 's name for security reasons . He told Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti that Snowden would perform maintenance for the site . CNN 's Frederik Pleitgen reported from Berlin and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London . CNN 's Alla Eshchenko , Diana Magnay and Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report .
NEW : Edward Snowden wo n't leave Russia to testify on U.S. spying claims , attorney says . Snowden would like to testify in Washington , German lawmaker says . Stroebele : `` He did n't present himself as an enemy of America , quite the opposite '' Snowden would like to go to Germany if he were safe from extradition , Stroebele said .