Russia expects to sign child adoption deal with France this year

Russia and France plan to sign a child adoption agreement this year, the press service of the Russian Science and Education Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The issue of international adoptions in Russia came back into focus recently when a 7-year-old boy was put on a plane alone back to Moscow with a note from his U.S. adoptive mother, who said he was "psychopathic."

Russia is drafting similar bilateral agreements on child adoption with Spain, Britain, Ireland, Israel and the United States.

"We hope to reach agreement on all provisions and sign the Russian-French cooperation agreement on child adoption this year," the statement quoted an education ministry official, Alina Levitskaya, as saying.

Levitskaya, who heads the ministry's department of education and social protection, led the Russian delegation at the second round of Russian-French talks in Paris on April 29-30.

She said Russia and France agreed that the treaty should contain provisions that stipulate the careful selection of French adoptive parents and better control over the living conditions of adopted children.

The next round of talks is to be held by the end of the summer.

Italy was the first country to sign a bilateral adoption agreement with Russia. The document came into force on November 27, 2009.

MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti)