MOSCOW, July 20 - RAPSI. Moscow has demanded from Washington unrestricted access to Russian children at the Ranch for Kids in Eureka, MT, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Friday.
“We request to provide Russian representatives with the unrestricted opportunity to visit Russian children at the Ranch for Kids,” he said during a briefing in Moscow.
The Ranch for Kids was set up for American parents experiencing difficulties with their adopted Russian-born children.
According to the media, 25 children are at the camp today, 10 of whom are from Russia. The remaining kids are from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, Haiti, Ethiopia and other countries.
Children's Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov harshly criticized the ranch earlier, claiming that it was registered as a religious organization in order to evade inspections and taxes, and that it has no licenses or authorization to educate children. Astakhov has also stated his intent to seek the ranch's closure.
Last month, Astakhov and Foreign Ministry Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law Envoy Konstantin Dolgov hoped to visit the ranch to see if gross violations of children’s rights are actually occurring there. However, they were denied access.