Russian Embassy Confirms Diplomat Visited Site of Orphan's Death

By Victoria Mashkova

WASHINGTON -- The Russian embassy in Washington, DC confirmed Tuesday that its officials had visited a site in Texas in connection with the death of a Russian orphan.

Embassy representatives announced that a senior diplomat from the Russian Embassy and a consular representative from the Russian Consulate General in Houston have visited the place of the accident and talked to representatives of the local authorities as well as the dead boy's father.

3 year-old Maxim Kuzmin, also known as Max Shatto, died late January while in the custody of his American parents.

19 children have died in the custody of their American parents. About 60,000 Russian orphans have been adopted by Americans in the past 2 decades. Russia has banned the U.S. from adopting children on January 1st.