(FOX News) Ecuador says it is considering an asylum request from Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed secrets about the federal government's surveillance programs, as he is expected to leave Russia Monday for Cuba in evasion of U.S. authorities. Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said Snowden was ultimately bound for Ecuador "via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks." Fox News sources in Russia confirm Snowden was expected to leave the country on Aeroflot Flight SU150 to Havana, Cuba at 6:05 a.m. The airline was not yet able to confirm the flight had left as of 6:20 a.m. from Sheremetyevo Airport, the same airport Snowden had flown into on Sunday from Hong Kong. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino spoke briefly to reporters on his way to a meeting with Vietnam's foreign minister Monday, saying his country is analyzing Snowden's request but did not say how long it would take Ecuador to decide. "We are analyzing it with a lot of responsibility," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters through a translator at a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. He says the asylum request "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world." "There are some governments that act more upon their own interests, but we do not," Patino said when asked if he was concerned about potentially damaging Ecuador's relationship with the United States. "We act upon our principles." "We take care of human rights of the people," he added. The U.S. has been left with limited options as Snowden's itinerary took him on a tour of what many see as anti-American capitals. Ecuador in particular has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation. Eric Snowden Hong Kong image