MOSCOW, October 30 - RAPSI. Moscow has demanded that the U.S. authorities grant Russian consulate employees unlimited access to Maxim Babayev, who was subject to abuse from his U.S. foster family, according to a statement by foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

Maxim's adoptive parents were arrested in Brevard, Florida on suspicion of child abuse last year. The court later closed the case. In September, Russian diplomats requested a full explanation from the US authorities and details of the boy's whereabouts so that they could meet with him.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the ruling recently passed by the Brevard District Court, Florida, refusing to grant the Russian consulate access to Babayev contradicts the provisions of the Consular Convention between the Soviet Union and the United States of 1964.

Zakharova said that the Brevard District Court ignored Moscow's request to grant Russian consulate employees unlimited access to Babayev, and instead recommended talking with Maxim's temporary guardian over the telephone.