Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was in favor of banning the adoption of Russian children by US citizens.

In response to a question at his annual international press conference in Moscow, the Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was in favor of banning the adoption of Russian children by US citizens.

The tough measure bans adoption of Russian children by US families, ends the bilateral adoption agreement between the two countries, and forbids US adoption agencies from working in Russia.

Putin also welcomed the parliament's decision to retaliate against the so-called US Magnitsky Act, named in honor of a whistle-blowing lawyer who died in jail before going on trial.

The United States “replaced one anti-Russian law with another,” and this indicates that our foreign partners are living in the past and intend to maintain relations “rooted in a standoff between two systems,” the Russian leader stated.

Speaking on the proposed adoption ban (named in honor of Dima Yakovlev, a Russian boy who died as a result of being left inside of a car on a hot day by his adoptive American parents), Putin said that to his knowledge the majority of Russians disapprove of foreign adoptions.

The President told his audience that the amendment is not against adoptions per se, but rather a response to the US judicial system that regularly denies Russian diplomats from monitoring the wellbeing of Russian children adopted by US citizens. Putin called this practice “a humiliation,” saying that no one should have to tolerate such an attitude.

Russia's lower house of parliament gave key support Wednesday to the bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children, resulting in a huge outcry from rights groups.

The bill now needs to be passed in the largely symbolic third reading Friday before moving on to the upper house of parliament, which often gives unanimous approval to Kremlin-sponsored legislation.

Putin will then need to sign the bill before it enters into law, possibly as early as the start of next year; however, he assured his listeners during the press conference that he would study the Russian-US adoption agreement before signing it.

Although Russian adoptions have declined over the past five years due to increased regulations, Russia is still the third largest source of adoptions for the United States, according to official figures.