U.S. Ambassador to Russia invited to State Duma

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul was invited to the Russian parliament, the State Duma. The reason for the invite is tragic - the death of three-year-old boy Maxim Kuzmin in Texas.

According to the head of the Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, Elena Mizulina, (Just Russia Party), the committee members will ask the ambassador what the U.S. authorities are going to do for the Russian adoptees in America.

According to Mizulina, these children are "our citizens, and the abolition of the agreement (on adoption with the U.S.) does not mean that we have no right to demand the U.S. State Department should be responsible for the fate of these children, and for their return to Russia," ITAR-TASS quoted the official as saying.

In addition, the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Dmitry Livanov, was also invited for the meeting of the State Duma Committee. The department deals with adoption issues as well.

Michael McFaul may ignore the invitation to the meeting of the committee in the parliament. He is not obliged to respond to such invitations. However, his refusal, if it happens, will be clearly seen as a hostile move, which would demonstrate the reluctance of U.S. officials to discuss the serious problem.

It should be noted that the U.S. ambassador to Russia has repeatedly criticized the "law of Dima Yakovlev", which contains a norm prohibiting the adoption of Russian children by Americans.

In addition, after the Federation Council approved the bill at the end of December last year, the Ambassador said that the Russian authorities would no longer to able to follow the fate of Russian children in the United States.

"Under the previous agreement (on adoption, signed in November 2012 - ed.) Russia could monitor their lives, but now that the country has given it up and lost such a chance" McFaul said.

Moscow totally disagree with that and insists that the country has the right to follow the fate of Russian children in U.S. foster families.

Noteworthy, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights, Pavel Astakhov, said that the U.S. State Department did not help Russian diplomats to clarify circumstances of the death of the child in Texas.

Anton Kulikov

Pravda.Ru 

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