Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas was mum as he stepped outside a hotel in Moscow on Thursday. His company remains embroiled in an ownership conflict over Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom.

The trip, which includes Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas, "has got nothing to do with the present situation in Moscow or the Ukraine," claimed Telenor spokesman Dag Melgaard.

"It's a private trip to learn more about the Russian and Ukrainian market," he added.

Newspaper Aftenposten reported Friday that the Telenor executives were encountered outside their hotel in Moscow, but wouldn't talk much. Aftenposten noted that Baksaas and members of Telenor's board are in Moscow "possibly to find a solution to the conflict over Vimpelcom."

Neither Baksaas nor Telenor Chairman Thorleif Enger would comment on an earlier report that the government minister in charge of Norwegian business affairs had rejected an attempt to offer some of Telenor's shares to Vimpelcom's owners. The Norwegian government remains Telenor's major shareholder.

Enger wouldn't answer any questions from Aftenposten outside the Marriott Aurora Hotel, near the Kremlin. Henrik Torgersen, responsible for Telenor's Russian operations, said the trip to Moscow had been planned for a long time.

"Aside from that, I have no comment," he said.

© Nina Berglund, "Aftenposten English Web Desk / Reuters"