Official opinion

More than half of the Russian quota in the American educational program Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) will go to Ukraine. US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland announced this in Kyiv. Let us remind you: the Russian authorities recently announced their withdrawal from the program, under which over the past 22 years more than 8 thousand schoolchildren from the CIS countries received the opportunity to study and live in the United States for free for a year. The program is fully paid for by the US, including travel, pocket money stipend and health insurance. It was expected that 240 high school students from Russia would go to the United States next school year. “However, the Russian authorities have decided to deprive their citizens of the opportunity to study in the United States,” said Victoria Nuland. “We hope that we will be able to restore the Russian program in the not too distant future. In the meantime, these places will be transferred to other countries.” According to her, about 100 places from the Russian quota will be assigned to Ukrainians (eventually the number of program participants from Ukraine will exceed 300 people). The remaining places will be given to Georgia, Moldova and Armenia.

Moscow justified its decision to withdraw from FLEX by the fact that a 17-year-old Russian schoolboy was illegally adopted by a same-sex American couple (see Kommersant of October 8). US immigration officials say he asked for asylum on his own. Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Olga Golodets said yesterday that “serious proceedings” were ahead regarding the fate of the young man.

Elena Chernenko

Russian seats will be given to four countries