Russia says ban on American adoptions still in placeJanuary 11, 2013 - 20:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian officials on Friday, Jan 11 clarified that a recent U.S.-Russian adoption agreement would not overrule the ban on adoptions by U.S. nationals that came into force on January 1, RIA Novosti reported. “Contrary to some interpretations, the agreement doesn’t say that Russia is obliged to hand over [Russian] children to American adoptive parents,” spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said. A Kremlin spokesman said on Thursday that the U.S.-Russian adoption agreement enacted in November would remain in force until year’s end, sparking confusion in the media and raising false hopes for American families hoping to adopt Russian children. “The agreement is in force at the moment,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said, adding that “it will be in force over the course of the year.” Russian children’s ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said Friday that the fate of every child whose adoption was approved by a court prior to the New Year, but not completed in terms of paperwork and travel, would be decided on a case-by-case basis. “I’m waiting for the list from [Education and Science] Minister Livanov. A decision will be made on each case, and the Foreign Ministry is working out the procedure,” Astakhov said. U.S. State Department officials said Thursday they had been contacted by about 950 individuals who were in the process of adopting Russian children when the adoption ban came into effect. Apparently, only a handful of them will be allowed to complete their adoptions. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |