The future Russian-U.S. agreement on child adoption should identify the proper agencies and methods for monitoring the living conditions of adopted children, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"The issue is about identifying authorized agencies to deal with child adoptions and about providing oversight both from U.S. agencies and Russian consular officers regarding the life of Russian children in American families," the source said.
Russian and U.S. officials have worked to agree an appropriate document at consultations in Moscow, the source said, adding that the Foreign Ministry was positive about the results of the talks.
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 an incident, which became the last straw for Russia, 7-year-old Artyom flew to Moscow alone in early April, with a note in which his U.S. adoptive mother claimed he was "psychopathic" and she would not take care of him any longer.
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, May 14 (RIA Novosti)
