In a long-awaited statement bringing clarity to the U.S. adoption of Russian children, a Russian official has said that adoptions will continue. Andrei A. Fursenko, Russia's Education and Science Minister, has said that no formal or legal suspension of adoptions has been put in place.

“Mr. Fursenko appeared to contradict the assertions of Russian foreign ministry officials, who said last month that there would be no adoptions until the United States and Russia reached an agreement on new regulations. But Mr. Fursenko’s comments would appear to carry more weight because of his agency’s role in the adoption process.” [Source: The New York Times]

The Education and Science Ministry oversees international adoptions, and therefore has more influence over adoption policy than other ministries. In addition, no single ministry has the authority to halt adoptions. That kind of sweeping change can only be enacted by law, as the result of a majority vote of the Russian parliament.

Labels: international, Russia

Posted By: Adoption Issues