A Russian-U.S. draft deal on child adoption may be submitted for agreement by both countries after a third round of talks, the head of the Russian delegation said on Tuesday.
Three-day bilateral talks on the issue began in Washington on June 14 and are going smoothly, Alina Levitskaya said, adding that she hoped the text of the deal would be forwarded for approval by both states after their conclusion.
"The main thing is that we prescribe a mechanism of control over the adoptive families, and that's quite complicated, because there are details that need coordination with both Russian and U.S. legislation," she said, adding that there were more difficulties with the deal in the U.S. due to individual state laws.
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 to Moscow with a note from his U.S. adoptive mother, who claimed he was "psychopathic."
The case led to 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 15 (RIA Novosti)
