BERLIN — Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, met for almost three hours in Moscow on Thursday with Hans-Christian Ströbele, the longest serving member of the parliamentary committee that oversees German intelligence.

Mr. Ströbele and Georg Mascolo, a German investigative journalist, told German television they found Mr. Snowden in good spirits and very aware of the effect of his disclosures about the depth and breadth of the United States’ spying on foes and allies.

Mr. Ströbele and Mr. Mascolo went to Moscow to explore whether Mr. Snowden could or would testify before a planned parliamentary inquiry into what is referred to here as the N.S.A. affair, the agency’s monitoring of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone calls.

Any arrangements for Mr. Snowden to testify would require intricate legal maneuvering. It seemed unlikely that he would travel to Germany from Moscow, where he has lived since Russia granted him temporary asylum July 31, for fear of extradition to the United States.