The Maltese Embassy in Moscow is looking into the case of Russian children who were taken back to their country after being taken care of by Maltese families, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said.
Speaking from Moscow, where he met Russian counterpart Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, Dr Borg said one had to be sensitive to the ties formed between the children and the families who fostered them.
This comes days after The Sunday Times highlighted the case of Romina and Karl Bonaci who took care of Russian boy Sergei Federov for five years before he was taken away last January. The Bonacis, who have one biological son, lost contact with the boy they loved as their own and were recently told he was in hospital.
Other families are going through the same heartbreak after 13 children were taken back to Russia last April, soon after Russian orphan Maxim Vorobyev whose body was dragged from the sea in Grand Harbour 10 days after disappearing on February 25.
Dr Borg and Mr Lavrov agreed to start talks to reach an adoption agreement between the two countries. "We hope that when this is concluded, we can solve some problems that cropped up with regard to fostering," Dr Borg said, adding that adoption would offer an alternative.
In 2001, the Maltese government was expected to sign an agreement with Russia to facilitate the adoption of orphans. Two months later, the negotiations stalled after disagreement on fees, which were expected to amount to about $15,000 (some €10,000) for every child. The government had said it was unacceptable and illegal that any money, apart from reasonable professional fees, was paid in the adoption process.
The meeting between Dr Borg and Mr Lavrov was the first at ministerial level in 20 years and Dr Borg emphasised the need to strengthen trade relations, adding there was huge potential to increase investment from Russia and to open new market opportunities for entrepreneurs. Malta exports some €2 million worth of goods to Russia, mainly in pharmaceutical and plastic products, and imports about €60 million, mainly in oil products.
Dr Borg said the two agreed to hold more ministerial exchanges and discussed a number of problems, including migration and the Middle East. He said Mr Lavrov was particularly interested in the Euro-Arab liaison office, which opened in Malta last month. The two also discussed plans for a new security treaty within the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which interests Malta as a neutral country because it gives it more security.
Mr Lavrov expressed Russia's gratitude for Malta's cooperation in resolving the case of the Malta-registered Arctic Sea, which had gone missing in the Atlantic in summer.