Four ex-US government officials who met with former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden said yesterday that he is adjusting to life in Russia and expresses no regrets about leaking highly classified information. Separately, Snowden's father arrived in Moscow to see his son.

The Americans, who had worked for the CIA, FBI, Justice Department and NSA, have criticized the US government and in some cases exposed what they believed was wrongdoing in the security agencies. They are the first Americans known to have met Snowden since he was granted asylum in Russia in August.

They described spending the previous evening with Snowden to present him with an award given annually by a group of retired CIA officers.

"He spoke about going out and about and getting to understand Russia and its culture and the people," said Thomas Drake, a former NSA executive who gave inside information to a newspaper about an electronic espionage program.

Snowden's father, Lon, did not say when or where he would meet his 30-year-old son, but expressed optimism about his situation.

"You know, I have heard so many things through the media, and my assumption is certainly, given the circumstances, he's doing as well as could be expected," he said shortly after he arrived in Moscow. "He's safe and he's free, and that's a good thing."

The former US officials refused to say where they met Snowden or where he is living.

The Sam Adams Award is named for a CIA analyst during the Vietnam War who accused the US military of underestimating the strength of the enemy for political purposes. The award is given annually by the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence.

The winner of the award in 2010 was WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.

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