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Russia, U.S. agree on adoption standards

A Russian boy carries a military flag during the Victory Day celebration in Moscow. (File/UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov)
A Russian boy carries a military flag during the Victory Day celebration in Moscow. (File/UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- After months of negotiations, the United States and Russia have agreed to a treaty with tighter guidelines on the adoption of Russian children, officials said.

Under the agreement, Russian children adopted by U.S. parents will be monitored by outside agencies and will remain Russian citizens until they are 18 years of age, the Moscow Times reported Thursday.

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Russia demanded the deal following a series of incidents of neglect and death at the hands of adoptive parents. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed the agreement Wednesday in Washington.

Russia is second only to China in the number of children adopted by U.S. citizens. The United States is the top destination for Russian children, with some 60,000 adoptions in the past 20 years.

The Times said the number of adoptions has been declining in recent years.

There were fewer than 4,000 adoptions in 2005. There were 1,586 adoptions in 2009, and just 1,079 last year.

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