Moscow accuses Washington of 'secret export' of Russian schoolchildren to the USA

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the US State Department and the American Embassy in Moscow of conducting a “secret operation” to smuggle Russian schoolchildren to the United States. The US State Department reported that the American administration has nothing to do with the financing of private school exchange programs, but confirmed that due to the coronavirus epidemic, 51 schoolchildren from Russia are still in the country. Writes about this with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

The official demarche made by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the State Department and the US Embassy in Moscow became known from a statement published on the official page of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

At the same time information about this posted on her personal page in Facebook Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Screenshot: Facebook / Maria Zakharova

“The stories that this virus has brought to light amaze even the most sophisticated imagination,” she emotionally prefaced the news report about the Foreign Ministry’s demarche.

According to Russian diplomats, several dozen Russian schoolchildren were taken to the United States to participate in exchange programs. At the same time, according to Zakharova, “the Russian Foreign Ministry was not informed of any programs involving the export of our schoolchildren to the United States. Their implementation was not agreed upon with anyone. They were carried out in secret from the Russian authorities.”

The diplomatic service said that the Department of State told the Russian side about the problems that Russian schoolchildren faced in the United States.

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“However, no details were given. We were only told that within the framework of the Secondary School Student Program alone, supervised by the State Department itself, 74 Russian high school students arrived in the United States,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Now its implementation is being curtailed due to the pandemic. The receiving party does not bear any responsibility for the children, and so far they have not even provided lists and information about their specific location.”

The statement also claims that “some” Russian schoolchildren were “literally turned out of the door by organizers and host families,” and now “the Russian Embassy is receiving direct requests for repatriation from minor Russian citizens who participated in other American educational or orientation programs.”

In response to a request from reporters at the State Department, it was reported that the US embassy in Moscow had relayed to the Russian side all the information regarding the situation of students in the United States as part of exchange programs on April 13.

“As of April 6, 51 high school students from Russia continue to be in the United States on programs funded by private companies,” a State Department official explained. “We know that some of these students have informed their sponsors of their desire to return to Russia and are negotiating this through their sponsors.”

The American diplomatic service assured that the State Department does not finance these exchange programs, and participants in private educational programs “do not receive grants from the US government, they are not paid for relocation and are not provided with any financial assistance from the authorities.”

“Nevertheless, we continue to offer them assistance and support,” the State Department spokesman assured.

A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry mentions that back in 2014, Russia officially refused to participate in the FLEX school exchange program with the United States.

However, at present, dozens of private companies in Russia continue to offer Russian students to participate in school exchange programs, going to study in the United States for a period of several months to one year.

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Amounts that some intermediaries offer to pay for tuition at an American school start at $ 6900 dollars for one semester of study at a public school. Staying in a private educational institution will cost much more.

There are, however, training options that are paid by private American companies. One of these programs is indeed the Secondary School Student Program, which was mentioned by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Information about her really posted on the US State Department website. But, as the page emphasizes, the US diplomatic agency does not oversee this program, but only selects companies that will sponsor the stay of Russian students in the United States.

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