Putin to sign anti-US adoptions bill
2012-12-27 20:17
Moscow - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday
he will sign a controversial bill banning Americans from adopting Russian
children.
More than 60 000 Russian children have been adopted in
the US in the past two decades with Russia being the single biggest source of
adopted children for years.
Unicef estimates that there are about 740 000 children
without parental custody in Russia, while only 18 000 Russians are now waiting
to adopt a child.
The bill has angered many Russians who argue that it
victimises Russian orphans who will be robbed of the opportunity to get a
family.
Putin on Thursday indicated his intention to endorse the
measure.
"I still don't see any reasons why I should not sign
it," he told a televised meeting, referring to the bill. He went on to say
that he "intends" to sign it.
The president said US authorities deny access to adopted
Russian children and let Americans suspected of violence toward Russian
adoptees go unpunished.
Critics of the bill have left dozens of stuffed toys and
candles outside the parliament's lower and upper houses of parliament to
express solidarity with Russian orphans.
Children rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov on Wednesday
said that 46 children who were about to be adopted in the US would remain in
Russia in case the bill comes into effect.
Astakhov on Thursday petitioned the president to extend
the ban to other countries.
"There are huge money, dodgy people and semi-legal
schemes for exporting children," Astakhov tweeted, explaining his
decision.
The Russian parliament has approved the bill, which is
part of a larger measure by lawmakers retaliating against a recently signed US
law calling for sanctions against Russians deemed guilty of human rights
violations.
The US State Department said on Wednesday that it
regretted the Russian parliament's decision.
- AP
