Putin to ignore adoption by same-sex couples

President Vladimir Putin will back a ban on same-sex couples from abroad adopting Russian children, he said on Tuesday, dismissing Western criticism of the way homosexuality is treated in Russia.

Putin also called for tolerance, but his remarks, after a summit with European Union leaders, underscored a rift between Russia and many Western governments over gay rights.

Putin, who has embraced the Russian Orthodox Church as a moral authority and harnessed its influence as a source of political support, has championed socially conservative values during a new term he started in May 2012.

He said in April that a French law allowing same-sex marriage went against Russian values.

"As for a law restricting adoptions of children from Russia by same-sex families ... if such a law is passed by parliament I will sign it," Putin told a news conference after the Russia-EU summit in the city of Yekaterinburg.


/Reuters/