Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow does not want to take back refugees who crossed into Norway from Russia.

Speaking at his annual news conference, Lavrov said: "The talk is about people who arrived to Russia with a purpose of either to work in Russia or to visit relatives. They had not declared their (true) purpose of visit as transit to Norway," Lavrov told his annual news conference."

A day earlier, Norwegian authorities announced it has suspended the deportation of asylum seekers to Russia.

Many refugees crossing into Norway have taken a path through Russia dubbed the ‘Arctic route,’ and were previously sent back directly.

The refugees arriving into Norway from Russian territory have in most cases traveled from as far away as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, taking the ‘Arctic route’ via Moscow, Murmansk, and the town of Nikel.

Source: MENA