Moscow, March 4 (RHC)-- U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden will return to the United States if he is granted a fair trial, says a Russian lawyer for the former NSA contractor. At a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Anatoly Kucherena made the announcement, saying the National Security Agency's former contractor was working with lawyers from the U.S. and Germany to make this happen, the Associated Press reported.

Snowden, whose whereabouts are not exactly known, moves freely in Russia but is protected by security guards, according to the lawyer.

In June 2013, he leaked classified intelligence documents, showing the extent of the agency's spying activities. According to the documents, the agency had been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans and foreign nationals as well as political leaders around the world.

Ed Snowden fled his country to avoid espionage charges. In August 2013, Russia granted him asylum.