Russia and U.S. will start the third round of talks on a bilateral child adoption agreement on Monday in Washington, the press service of the Russian child ombudsman said.
The first two rounds were held in Moscow this spring. The U.S. side had already received a draft agreement from Russia, and returned an amended text in early June.
Russia's child ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said the amendments were "immaterial in nature," and did not "go beyond agreements, previously reached during talks in Moscow."
"It is important that this round is the final one," Astakhov said, adding that the Russian and U.S. presidents will meet before the end of June. "And such a meeting would mark a permanent settlement of the issue and approval by the heads of the states of the agreements reached on the U.S. adoption of Russian children."
Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama are likely to meet on the sidelines of the G8 and G20 in Canada at the end of June, although Astakhov said the agreement did not need to be signed by the presidents.
Russia is one of the largest sources of foreign 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 to Moscow with a note from his U.S. adoptive mother, who claimed he was "psychopathic."
At least 15 children have died at the hands of their adoptive parents in the U.S. since the end 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.
MOSCOW, June 14 (RIA Novosti)
