“I’ve from Day One said that I’m doing this to serve my country,” Snowden said in excerpts broadcast Wednesday on “Nightly News.” The extended, wide-ranging interview with Williams airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

Snowden said his desire to return to his homeland is foremost in his mind. “I don’t think there’s ever been any question that I’d like to go home,” he said.

But asked whether he would make a deal to return, Snowden said: “My priority is not about myself. It’s about making sure that these programs are reformed — and that the family that I left behind, the country that I left behind — can be helped by my actions.”