Russian President Vladimir Putin held a Q-and-A session Thursday to field questions from the public, joke about annexing Alaska (nope – it’s “too cold”) and answer Edward Snowden’s query about Russia’s surveillance practices.

In a surprise appearance via video link, Snowden point-blanked the leader of his current host country, asking, “Does Russia intercept or store or analyze the communication of millions of individuals?”

Of course, Putin took the former NSA analyst’s prompt as an opportunity to paint himself in a favorable light, saying, “Mr. Snowden, you are a former agent — a spy. I used to work for a intelligence service; we are going to talk the same language.”

Here’s what Putin had to say in that same language, via Russia Today:

–Posted by Kasia Anderson