Russia rejects calls to resume adoptions

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin's adviser on child rights Thursday flatly dismissed protesters' calls to rescind a ban on adoptions of Russian orphans by Americans, saying it puts an end to abuse and trading in Russian children in the United States.

Tens of thousands of people protested Sunday in Moscow against Kremlin-backed legislation rushed through parliament to retaliate against a U.S. law that imposes sanctions on Russians accused of human rights abuses.

"What has been done . . . will not be undone, no matter what protests occur," Pavel Astakhov said Thursday at a news conference, referring to the ban that took effect Jan. 1.

He pointed to the overwhelming approval the law won in parliament before Putin signed it on Dec. 28, adding to tension with the United States and drawing protests from critics who say it will compound the suffering of Russian orphans.

More than 650,000 children are considered orphans in Russia and about 110,000 of them lived in state institutions in 2011. They are eligible for foreign adoption only if repeated attempts to find them a home within the country fail.

Americans have adopted more than 60,000 Russian children since the Soviet collapse in 1991, according to the U.S. State Department. From 2000-2010, the figure was above 1,000 every year, with a high of nearly 6,000 in 2004.

Campaigners say most orphans with disabilities never find parents in Russia, making foreigners the best hope for escape from Russia's troubled state children's homes. But Astakhov said that of 3,400 Russian children adopted by foreigners in 2011, only about 5 percent were disabled.