- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Russia, U.S. agree on text of child adoptions deal

© Flickr / Leonid MamchenkovRussia, U.S. agree on text of child adoptions deal
Russia, U.S. agree on text of child adoptions deal - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Russia and the United States have agreed on the text of a deal on child adoptions that has been under discussion since April, the Russian Education and Science Ministry said Friday.

Russia and the United States have agreed on the text of a deal on child adoptions that has been under discussion since April, the Russian Education and Science Ministry said Friday.

A Russian-American working group held the fourth round of talks on the issue in Moscow on July 21-23.

"During thorough work on the document, we reached an agreement on its text," the ministry said. "Now the draft will be submitted to each country for interdepartmental consideration."

Russia is one of the largest sources of adoptions for U.S. families, accounting for about 10% of foreign adoptions, but the issue has become controversial in recent years following several incidents involving the mistreatment of Russian children in the United States.

In a recent incident, a 7-year-old boy was put on a plane alone back to Moscow with a note from his U.S. adoptive mother, who claimed he was "psychopathic."

At least 17 children have died at the hands of their adoptive parents in the United States since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the issue has seen repeated calls for a ban on foreign adoptions of Russian children. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Russia could freeze child adoptions by U.S. citizens until the countries sign a formal agreement regulating them.

However, critics say the issue has been used to distract attention from child abuse in Russia, where some 2,000 children die at the hands of adults every year.

MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti)

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала