Russia Ready For Dialogue With US on Adoption Ban - Upper House Speaker

Russia may cancel the "Dima Yakovlev law" envisioning an adoption ban if the United States provides guarantees of life and health of Russian children adopted by US nationals, Valentina Matvienko, the speaker of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In late 2012, the Russian parliament approved legislation dubbed the Dima Yakovlev law, which imposed a ban on the adoption of Russian children by US nationals, among other provisions.

The law is named after a Russian toddler who died of heatstroke in 2008 after his adoptive US father left him in a car in the sun for nine hours.

"We are ready for dialogue with the US on the issue. If they guarantee the life and health of adopted Russian children, it will be possible to reverse everything. This law is not an end in itself," Matvienko told reporters.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled earlier on Tuesday that Moscow's ban preventing US citizens from adopting children in Russia has resulted in the unlawful discrimination of prospective parents.