WASHINGTON: The US State Department is criticising an effort by Russian lawmakers to halt adoptions of Russian children by American parents.

Russia's Parliament has approved a bill to ban Americans from adopting Russian children, and President Vladimir Putin indicates he will sign the measure.

It is seen as retaliation for US sanctions against human rights violations in Russia, which were included in a wide-ranging trade bill recently signed into law by President Barack Obama.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell says the US regrets that parliament approved the adoption ban, instead of embracing an agreement the two countries reached last month.

Ventrell says, quote, ''It is misguided to link the fate of children to unrelated political considerations.''

The State Department says Americans have adopted more than 60,000 Russian children in the past 20 years.