U.S. Delegation Discusses Adoptions With Russian Officials

A U.S. State Department delegation on adoptions was in Moscow today for talks with Russian authorities.

The talks were aimed at defusing a row in U.S.-Russian adoptions following the case of 7-year-old Artyom Savelyev, a Russian adoptee, who was put alone on a plane back to Russia when his U.S. adoptive mother no longer wanted him.

Moscow froze adoptions by U.S. families after the incident.

After today's talks, Pavel Astakhov, Russia's special presidential envoy for childrens' rights, said he expected that a new U.S.-Russian adoption agreement would be reached.

Russia demands a bilateral agreement with the United States spelling out measures to protect its children from potentially abusive U.S. parents as a condition before adoptions can resume.

compiled from agency reports