A close ally of Edward Snowden has told filmmakers that Russia's intelligence agency sought to recruit the former NSA contractor, but he declined the offer.

WikiLeaks staffer Sarah Harrison says the Russian FSB intelligence security service approached Snowden while he was stuck in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for six weeks in 2013.

At the time, Snowden was unable to enter Russia or fly elsewhere because his passport had been cancelled by U.S. authorities seeking to arrest him for leaking secret documents.

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Harrison told German filmmakers in a documentary airing late Monday that the FSB asked only once, and he "didn't give anything to the Russians at all." The FSB did not respond to an AP request for comment.

Russia granted Snowden temporary asylum in August, 2013.