Russia-USA bilateral adoptions agreement is fair and equal - FM

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian-U.S. agreement regarding
cooperation in the adoption of children is "truly fair and equal," Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint with U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton news conference on Wednesday.
According to the foreign minister "an early coming into effect of the
document will make it possible to remove irritants that have rightly
appeared" in the Russian society in connection with the adoption of
children by American nationals.
He noted that the document provides "guarantees that the adoptive
parents are mentally stable," that they have been checked by agencies
accredited by the U.S. government as well as that "they ensure necessary
access of Russian diplomats to the children".
Lavrov specified that this agreement must not be ratified in the
United States, while in Russia it must be ratified. The top Russian
diplomat pledged that Moscow would do everything possible to speed up that
process.
The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security
announced on Wednesday, July 13, that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signed a bilateral
adoptions agreement that will strengthen procedural safeguards in
adoptions between our countries.
This Agreement will provide additional safeguards to better protect
the welfare and interests of children and all parties involved in
inter-country adoptions. Under the Agreement, only adoption agencies
authorized by the Russian government will be able to operate in Russia and
provide services in adoptions covered by the Agreement, except in the case
of an adoption of a child by his or her relatives. This will largely
eliminate independent adoptions from Russia and create a better defined
framework for inter-country adoptions between the United States and Russia.
The Agreement also includes provisions designed to improve
post-adoption reporting and monitoring and to ensure that prospective
adoptive parents receive more complete information about adoptive children'
s social and medical histories and anticipated needs.
The United States is committed to working with the Russian Federation
on implementing the provisions laid forth in this Agreement as soon as it
enters into force.