The US ambassador to Moscow called on Russia to stop “sensational exploitation” of the tragic death in Texas of an adopted Russian boy as parliament on Friday prepared to vote on a special address to the US Congress on the escalating scandal.
The January death of three-year-old Maxim Kuzmin was this week alleged by some Russian officials to be murder by his mother Laura Shatto, whipping up a storm of controversy less than two months after Russia banned US adoptions.
In an emotional blog post dated late Thursday, US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said he was troubled by how the American people, legal system and diplomacy are being portrayed in the Russian press.
“I am troubled by how my people and my country are being portrayed by some in the Russian press,” he wrote hours after a federal television channel aired a prime-time talk show where speakers alleged that Americans subject children to religious cults and torture.
It is time for sensational exploitations of human tragedy to end and for professional work between our two countries to grow, on this issue and many others
“It is time for sensational exploitations of human tragedy to end and for professional work between our two countries to grow, on this issue and many others,” he added.