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Russian diplomat says no reason for Moscow to abolish Dima Yakovlev law

MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. There is no reason for Moscow to abolish the Dima Yakovlev Law, Russian Foreign Ministry's Ombudsman for Human Rights, Democracy and the Supremacy of Law Konstantin Dolgov said at the All-Russian human rights ombudsman meeting.

"There is no reason to abolish the law since the goals we aimed to reach by adopting it, haven’t been achieved yet," the diplomat said.

"However, if the US makes any steps in order to come to terms with us, we might change our position," Dolgov added.

The diplomat also said Russia should remain realistic about US President-Elect Donald Trump’s future policies. "We don’t expect the US to change its approach to child protection on January 21 (on January, 2017, Donald Trump will take the Oath of Office)," Dolgov stressed.

In December 2012, a law on sanctions for individuals violating human rights of Russian citizens was adopted in Russian which defines sanctions against US citizens involved in violations of the human rights of Russian citizens and bans US citizens from adopting children from Russia. The law was named after Dima Yakovlev, an 18-month Russian infant who died after his adoptive US family left him locked in a vehicle in 2008.

The Dima Yakovlev Law is considered to be a response to the Magnitsky bill adopted by the US Congress, placing sanctions on a number of Russian officials.