MOSCOW, October 2 (RIA Novosti) -The United States is the only country, which breaches the terms of student exchange programs with Russia, children's rights commissioner Pavel Astakhov said on Thursday in an interview with Russia's Rossiya 24 TV Channel.
"It's just the United States [we are having such problems with], for it should be understood that the legal system in America is built in such a way that any municipal judge can make a decision which, according to Americans, should be obligatory worldwide," Astakhov said.
The Russian ombudsman added, that cultural and educational programs should be promoted, but it is vital that their terms are observed.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador to Russia John F. Tefft said that Russian authorities had informed the US embassy of their decision to cancel the participation of Russian schoolchildren in the 2015-2016 Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program.
Under the FLEX Program, over the last two decades more than 8,000 Russian high school students have visited the United States for free. They stay in the US with host families and attend American high schools.
Astakhov explained, that the decision to cancel Russia's participation in the FLEX Program was made after a US host family took a Russian teenager who entered the United State via FLEX into legal custody.
According to Astakhov, at least 15 Russian students have never returned back from cultural and tourist programs in the United States.
