Question: Will the Russian interagency delegation visit the United States to discuss problems of Russians adopted by US nationals?

Konstantin Dolgov: On July 12, 2016, the Foreign Ministry received a note from the US Embassy in Moscow whereby the US side peremptorily refused to allow a Russian interagency delegation to hold special meetings at the US Department of State and the US Department of Justice to discuss a backlog of problems and subjects that have piled up in the “adoption” segment of bilateral relations through the fault of the US side. We insisted on these meetings throughout the past several months starting from last year.

The content of this and several other notes presented to the Foreign Ministry during the said period as part of reciprocal diplomatic correspondence confirms the fact that Washington continues to hold an extremely unconstructive position on this acute humanitarian problem.

This approach is evidence of a purely declarative nature of Washington’s statements about it being committed to defending the rights and legitimate interests of Russian children adopted by Americans (over 60,000 persons). The US attempt to dilute the discussion on this subject in the bilateral working dialogue on consular issues is clearly at variance with its importance and the scale of the existing problems.

Washington’s irresponsible position reaffirms the good reason behind the approval in December 2012 of Dima Yakovlev Law, which banned the adoption of Russian children by US nationals.

We will continue to use all available political and diplomatic means, while remaining on a firm legal foundation, to enforce strict observance of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of underage Russian citizens living in American adoptive families. We hope that the relevant international organisations, including the UN Human Rights Council, as well as human rights activists will focus on this humanitarian and human rights priority of ours.