Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has suffered a setback in his attempts to avoid extradition to the US, as more countries are saying no to his requests for asylum.

India Tuesday said it has turned down asylum request of Snowden who currently holed up at the transit lounge of Moscow airport.

"Indian Embassy in Moscow did receive a request for asylum in a communication dated 30 June from Edward Snowden. Following careful examination we have concluded that we see no reason to accede to the Snowden request," the External Affairs Ministry said on popular micro-blogging site "Twitter".

Dutch asylum lawyer Maarten Berg was quoted by Xinhua as sayting that Snowden's asylum request for Netherlands in Moscow "will not be granted" because under Dutch law he should be in the Netherlands.

A few other countries rejected Snowden's asylum request for the same reason, saying asylum applicants had to be on their soil.

An anonymous diplomat with the European External Action Service (EEAS) told Xinhua on Tuesday that no member state is expected to give green light to Snowden's asylum requests.

The?diplomat said that before the U.S. clarifies the surveillance reports, any diplomatic move must be prudently.

A statement by WikiLeaks, which supports him, released on Tuesday said that in addition to Ecuador and Iceland, Snowden had made a fresh batch of asylum requests to 19 countries, including the Netherlands. The requests have been delivered to the various embassies in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that Snowden has asked for political asylum in Russia.

But a Kremlin spokesman later said Mr Snowden withdrew the application to Russia because Moscow had said he should give up "anti-American activity".

Previously, Snowden has sent asylum request to Iceland and Ecuador. Iceland said it is considering his asylum request. Eduador's President Rafael Correa on Sunday said his country could not consider Snowden's asylum request because he wasn't on Ecuadorian territory.

The fate of Snowden, the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor, became a hot political issue in Russia following his unexpected arrival and self-confinement in Moscow airport's transit zone seven days ago.

The Sheremetyevo transit area is technically not under the Russia's jurisdiction, but Snowden's reported presence at a Moscow airport mounts tension between Russia and the U.S. since his arrival there last week.

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