Russia and the United States will hold the next round of talks on drafting a child adoption agreement in Washington on December 1-3, a Russian Education Ministry official said on Wednesday.
"There is reason to hope that the negotiations will help deal with the remaining issues and ensure the early signing of an agreement," Alina Levitskaya, director of the ministry's Child Education and Socialization Department, said.
Russian Children's Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has said he may push for a freeze on adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens if Russia and the United States fail to seal an adoption agreement by early 2011.
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 attracted public attention in recent months as a result of a number of highly publicized incidents.
In June, a 7-year-old boy 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 adopted children.
MOSCOW, November 24 (RIA Novosti)
