Washington ( CNN ) -- The United States is biding its time in its effort to get fugitive leaker Edward Snowden delivered to its custody , hoping that Russia wearies of him and Ecuador decides against granting him asylum , senior U.S. officials said Wednesday . Snowden , the former National Security Agency computer contractor who exposed details of U.S. surveillance programs , faces espionage charges if shipped back home . He is currently cooling his heels at Moscow 's international airport , where he arrived Sunday from Hong Kong . `` Time is our friend , '' one senior administration official told CNN . `` The Russians now just want him gone , and I 'm not sure if they care at this point if he goes to a country that might be inclined to send him back . '' The State Department revoked Snowden 's passport after charges were brought last week . Officials in Hong Kong , a semi-autonomous Chinese territory , said it needed more information before it could act on a U.S. request to hold him there . WikiLeaks said Snowden flew out of Hong Kong on refugee papers issued by Ecuador , where he has requested asylum , but Ecuador 's deputy foreign minister said Wednesday that his country had provided him no documents . 4 options for the U.S. to get Snowden back . Russian President Vladimir Putin said his government wo n't hand Snowden over to U.S. authorities , but seemed eager to wash his hands of the issue . `` The sooner he selects his final destination point , the better both for us and for himself , '' Putin said Tuesday during a visit to Finland . Snowden has the assistance of WikiLeaks , the organization that facilitates the disclosure of classified information . Ecuador has already granted asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange , who has been holed up in the country 's embassy in London for a year after losing a court battle to avoid extradition to Sweden . Washington has urged countries where Snowden may be headed , including Ecuador , to turn him away . But the senior administration official said Ecuadorian officials appear to be avoiding high-level discussions on the matter . Their ambassador to Washington is out of the country , and their foreign minister is on a trip to Asia . Speaking in Vietnam this week , Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government will consider the U.S. request when it decides on Snowden 's plea for asylum , which the United States considers a sign that the highest levels of the Ecuadorian government have gotten the message . The administration official said the fact that Ecuador is not rushing a decision is the best possible news , since Snowden will remain a hot potato in the Russians ' hands during that time . Snowden : I took job to gather evidence . U.S.-Ecuadorian ties have been strained during the administration of Ecuador 's current president , Rafael Correa . A leftist ally of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez , Correa closed an outpost at an Ecuadorian air base that the U.S. military used to conduct anti-drug operations . Washington and Quito expelled each others ' ambassadors in 2011 after an American diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks suggested that Correa was aware of acts of corruption by the police high command , and the United States has criticized recent laws that international observers say limit press freedoms . The $ 20 million the United States provides in aid to Ecuador is a relatively small amount , and the administration is holding off on talk of any additional pressure until its government makes a decision on asylum . `` We are not at the point where we are making threats yet , '' the official said . `` We are reserving the harder line until they know for sure whether the Ecuadorians are willing to take him in . ''
`` Time is our friend , '' a senior administration official says . NSA leaker Snowden faces U.S. espionage charges . He 's now in Moscow , which seems eager to send him on his way . Comment: