US blames fax for diplomatic row with Russia.

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Itar-Tass) -- The United States has apologized to Russia for failing to give it prompt notice about the detention of a Russian national and blamed the error on an unidentified official who pressed the wrong fax button.

"We pressed the wrong button on the fax machine, to be brutally
honest," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in his daily
briefing on Thursday. "We have apologized to Russia," he added.
Crowley refused to identify which country received the notice, but
Reuters quoted an anonymous US official as saying it was faxed to the
Romanian embassy.
Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko was detained in Liberia in late
May and handed over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. He is accused in
the United States of flying "thousand-kilogram" shipments of cocaine
throughout South America, Africa and Europe.
Russia issued a harsh statement regarding Yaroshenko's detention and
relocation saying the talk was about "kidnapping of a Russian citizen from
a third country."
"In addition, U.S. authorities have not informed the Russian
diplomatic missions about Yaroshenko's detention. The actions of U.S.
special services in the forcible and secret relocation of our citizen from
Monrovia to New York could only be seen as open lawlessness," the ministry
said.

.Russia, US likely to finalize adoption deal.

MOSCOW, July 23 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia and the United States will
complete the fourth round of negotiations on Friday and hope to finalize
the adoption agreement that may come into force by the end of the year.
Chief Russian negotiator Alina Levitskaya from the Education ministry
said it remains to resolve some technical issues related, in particular,
to Russian control of children adopted in the United States.
She also said the agreement will stipulate that adoption will be
allowed only through accredited agencies.
Levitskaya said same-sex families will no longer be allowed to adopt
children in Russia.
Russia insisted on concluding a bilateral adoption agreement following
a growing number of brutalities against Russian orphans in the United
States.

.Venezuela gives 72 hours for Colombian embassy to leave.

MEXICO CITY, July 23 (Itar-Tass) -- Venezuela gave 72 hours on
Thursday for the staff of the Colombian embassy to leave the country
following the decision of President Hugo Chavez to severe relations with
the neighbor in response to Bogota's claims that Venezuela shelters
Colombian leftist rebels.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said he had ordered the
closing of Venezuela's embassy in Bogota and gave the Colombian mission
three days to leave.
Colombia's Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS)
Luis Alfonso Hoyos called Venezuela's decision a "historic mistake".
"Venezuela should break relations with the gangs that kidnap and kill and
traffic drugs, and not with a legally constituted government," he said.
Chavez called the Colombian accusations presented at the OAS a
U.S.-inspired "aggression," and said he was ordering "maximum alert" on
his country's border with Colombia.
Chavez blamed the rift on outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe
and said he hoped Colombia's newly elected president, Juan Manuel Santos,
will normalize relations after he takes office in August.

.Ukrainian president, Russian patriarch to meet in Crimea.

KIEV, July 23 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich
will meet visiting Russian Patriarch Kirill in Crimea on Friday, the
presidential press service said.
Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoidy said "Patriarch
Kirill maintains long-standing warm relations with Yanukovich."
Yanukovich has been vacationing on the peninsula since July 12.
Kirill began his Ukrainian visit in Odessa on July 20 and is also to
travel to Dnepropetrovsk and Kiev where the Holy Synod of the Russian
Orthodox Church will hold a session.
-0-nec