MOSCOW. Dec 28 (Interfax) - Russia is withdrawing from the Russian-U.S. agreement on international adoptions on January 1, 2013. Thus, the document will no longer be valid, Russian presidential ombudsman on children's rights told Interfax on Friday.
"We are not talking about denouncing this agreement. Russia is withdrawing from the U.S. agreement on adoptions," Astakhov said.
"The document stops being valid for us beginning on January 1, 2013," he said.
On Friday, the Kremlin press service reported that Vladimir Putin had signed the law On Measures on Persons Involved in Violations of the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation, which had been passed by the State Duma and approved by the Federation Council.
Specifically, the law prohibits the adoption of children who are Russian citizens by U.S. citizens.
The document terminates the Russian-U.S. agreement on adoptions, which was signed in Washington on July 13, 2011.