U.S.-Russia ties won't suffer over Snowden: senior Kremlin official

NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters) - Ties between Russia and the United States will not suffer because of the "relatively insignificant" case of fugitive former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden, a senior Kremlin official said on Thursday.

"Our president has ... expressed hope many times that this will not affect the character of our relations," Yuri Ushakov told reporters, adding there was no sign that U.S. President Barack Obama would cancel a planned visit to Moscow in September.

(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, editing by Elizabeth Piper)