BARNAUL, August 10. /TASS/. Justus Walker, an American farmer known as "The Merry Milkman" who lives on a farm in Russia’s Altai Region, told TASS that his family is not facing expulsion from Russia.

"There was a misunderstanding, but everything has been clarified. We're not going anywhere," he said.

Walker, 44, a Russian citizen who was born in the US, said that his wife and children also plan to apply for Russian citizenship and hope to be granted it by late 2026. He has been living in Russia for many years. On Friday, reports surfaced in the mass media, citing the man, that he is facing deportation. He reiterated that neither he nor his family want to leave Russia.

After Walker's visit to Russia’s migration office on August 10, Russian Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk said that legal status of his family members has been settled.

"Today, the leadership of the Russian interior ministry’ Altai Region department met with Justus Walker and his wife to settle the legal status of his family members. The situation is under the control of the ministry’s migration service," she wrote on messaging app Max.

Volk explained that members of the Walker family reside in Russia on the basis of a residence permit, which, in turn, requires the timely submission of relevant notifications, the deadlines for which were not met in this case. "Proceeding from humanitarian considerations, officials from the migration department invited the aforementioned citizens to the interior ministry’s Altai Region department to resolve the legal situation," she noted, adding that reports about the Walker family’s expulsion from Russia are not true.

Walker settled in Russia with his parents when he was 11 and decided to remain here after his parents retuned home in 2000. He gained recognition in Russia in 2014 after appearing on state TV in an interview about Russia’s ban on food imports from other countries. He was dubbed The Merry Milkman for his jolly demeanor during that interview. He set up two farms in the Krasnoyarsk Region that produced milk, soft cheeses, and lamb meat. In late 2016, he moved to the Altai Region.