The United States has reiterated its readiness to conclude a new child adoption agreement by the end of this year, a U.S. Department of State official said.
"The negotiations proceed and we think they're going very well, and we hope to have an agreement before the end of the year," Special Advisor for Children's Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs told a briefing.
She added that Russia continues processing U.S. requests concerning adoption of Russian children.
Russia is one of the largest sources of adoptions for U.S. families, accounting for about 10 percent of foreign adoptions. The mistreatment of Russian children, adopted in the United States, has begun attracting public attention in recent months as a result of a number of highly publicized incidents.
In June, a 7-year-old boy who was placed alone on a one-way flight to Moscow by his U.S. adoptive mother with a note claiming he was "psychopathic."
Following the case, Russia threatened to prohibit child adoptions by U.S. citizens until the countries sign an intergovernmental agreement guaranteeing the rights of adoptive children.
WASHINGTON, November 2 (RIA Novosti)
