NOVO-OGARYOVO, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that all obstacles that prevent Russians from adopting children should be removed as soon as possible.

“The government has already made a number of decisions, but certain acute problems remain unsolved. We need to remove all barriers that stand in the way of citizens who want to accept an orphan into their family,” Putin said at a session of the Council for the Implementation of Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy.

He added that Russia lacked federal-level guidelines to streamline the adoption process.

“I instruct the government to solve all those issues in the shortest time possible,” Putin said.