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With President Trump, Russia Might Drop Its Adoption Ban on American Families

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Moscow and the United States might soon restart talks to overturn the ban on American families adopting Russian children.

Thanks to the election of Donald Trump in the United States, the chances of returning to the negotiating table are significantly higher, Children's ombudsman Anna Kuznetsova said at a presidential council meeting on Tuesday, according to the RBC news agency. 

A new trend towards resuming dialogue [with Washington] has already appearedWe are waiting for the new U.S. administration to be ready for a meeting,” Kuznetsova said, adding that she recently discussed the issue with officials at Russia's Foreign Ministry.

The Kremlin banned U.S. families from adopting Russian children in 2013. The move was largely seen as a response to the Magnitsky Act, which barred a number of Russian officials allegedly involved in human rights abuses from entering the United States. The Russian government maintains that the law was a response to the death of an adopted Russian child, Dima Yakovlev, while in the care of his American family in 2008.

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