Russian official says Russia, the US reached agreement on all key issues of adoption deal
By APWednesday, May 12, 2010
Russian official: accord reached on adoption deal
MOSCOW — A senior Russian official says Russia and the United States have reached agreement on all key issues for a bilateral agreement on adoptions.
Children’s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said Wednesday that the draft agreement is expected to be approved on Friday and is likely to be signed within two months.
Russia has been urging the United States to sign an agreement on adoptions following the case of an 8-year-old Russian boy sent back to Moscow alone last month by his adoptive American mother.
Russian officials say they want more control over U.S. adoptions and the living conditions of Russian children in the United States.
Some 1,800 Russian children were adopted in the United States last year, according to the Russian Education and Science Ministry.
