London: The Obama administration has condemned as ‘politically motivated’ a decision Moscow to ban Americans from adopting Russian children.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the controversial bill, with the immediate effect of preventing 52 children from joining pre-assigned parents in the US on Friday.
It marked the latest exchange over US legislation relating to the case of corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
In a statement on, the State Department criticised the signing of the bill by Putin, the Guardian reports.
It noted that over 60,000 Russian children had been adopted by Americans in the last 20 years.
According to the paper, Putin has masked the new rules on adoption with calls for patriotism, stating that Russia should care for its own citizens.
But inside Russia the bill has been criticised by opposition figures as "cannibalistic", with a petition against the act being signed by more than 100,000 people, the paper added.
ANI
