A draft resolution to this effect will shortly be coordinated among the various government agencies concerned and then submitted to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for final approval.

First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov gave the relevant orders to his staff Thursday at the close of a meeting at the federal government headquarters in Moscow.

"They are Russian citizens, and we will help them get back home," Mr Zubkov said.

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The Lyubov Orlova cruise ship was detained in the city of St Johns, Canada, on September 25, 2010, for the ship owner's debts to a Canadian company.  The crew includes 51 Russian citizens.