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Russia: Putin Parries on U.S. Adoption Ban

Daily Beast

President Vladimir Putin was evasive about whether he would sign a controversial bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children.

Speaking at his annual news conference on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply rebuked the American government, saying that U.S. officials had no right to lecture Russia about human rights and democracy. “They are up to their necks in a certain substance themselves,” Putin said of the Americans, returning to the subject over and over again during his lengthy press conference.

Putin defended his stance against military intervention in Syria and criticized the U.S.’s role in helping to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. But for all his anti-American invective, Putin was evasive about whether he would definitively back legislation passed by the Russian parliament that would prohibit American citizens from adopting Russian children. After being repeatedly questioned by journalists about the bill, Putin said he would have to read the text, reportedly adding that most Americans looking to adopt Russian children are “honest” and “decent.”

The legislation will become law if Putin signs it. It was passed in Russia in response to the Magnitsky Act, a bill that U.S. President Barack Obama signed last week, which imposes financial and travel restrictions on Russian human-rights abusers.