Officials dispute Russia adoptions freeze

MOSCOW - A Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday that adoptions of Russian children by U.S. families had been suspended, although other Russian and U.S. officials disputed that.

Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said during a televised briefing that new adoptions by Americans are on hold, pending a visit in the next few days by a U.S. delegation to reach an accord on future placement of Russian children.

The United States hopes to resolve a bitter dispute that broke out last week when an American woman sent her 7-year-old adopted son back to Russia on a plane by himself.

"Further adoptions of Russian children by American citizens, which are currently suspended, will be possible only if such a deal is reached," Nesterenko said in his briefing. "Russia believes that only an agreement that contains effective tools for Russian and U.S. officials to monitor the living conditions of adopted Russian children will ensure that recent tragedies in the United States will not be repeated."

But the Russia Education and Science Ministry, which oversees international adoptions, said it had no knowledge of an official freeze. A spokeswoman for the Kremlin's children's rights ombudsman said that organization also knew nothing of a suspension.

In Washington, the State Department said the administration had gotten conflicting information when it sought clarification from Russian officials about the status of adoptions.

The boy's return - with little supervision or explanation, aside from a note he carried from his adoptive mother saying he had psychological problems - outraged Russian authorities and the public.

The Tennessee woman who sent him back said she had been misled by the Russian orphanage about the boy's condition.

Russians were outraged that no charges were filed against her in the United States.