国际英语新闻:Obama has no plans to cancel visit to Russia: U.S. ambassador

MOSCOW, July 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is not going to cancel his visit to Russia, U.S. ambassador in Moscow said Monday.

"I am busy preparing for President Obama's arrival in Moscow and St. Petersburg in September. I am looking forward to the visit, " Michael McFaul wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted a State Department source as saying that Obama had left open his trip to Russia before the Group of 20 summit to be held in St. Petersburg this autumn.

McFaul refuted the media report that Obama might cancel the visit if the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is still in Russia by that time.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said he had received no information suggesting Obama's visit is in jeopardy.

"The visit is being prepared. We are in a constant contact with our colleagues to render the visit maximally busy," Peskov told reporters.

As for Snowden's fate, he said the situation was absolutely transparent, adding that it was not Russia's fault that Snowden was unable to leave the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

The U.S. whistleblower was thought to be lingering at the Sheremetyevo airport for a third week Monday since his arrival on June 23 from Hong Kong.