MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin said Thursday that an adoption deal with the U.S. will remain valid until 2014 despite a new Russian law banning the practice, but no new adoptions will be permitted and only those already cleared by Russian courts before the ban will be allowed to complete.

Last month, President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning Americans from adopting Russian children, part of a harsh response to a U.S. law targeting Russians deemed to be violating human rights.