Norway to block entry for most Russian tourists, Moscow says it will respond

OSLO (Reuters) -Norway will further curb access for Russian tourist travellers due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, blocking almost all entry from May 29, the Nordic country's justice ministry said on Thursday.

Russia called the decision "purely discriminatory" and said it would respond.

Norway, a NATO member that shares a border with Russia in the Arctic measuring almost 200 km (124 miles), first imposed restrictions on Russian tourist visas in 2022, shortly after Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"The decision to tighten the entry rules is in line with the Norwegian approach of standing by allies and partners in reaction to Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said in a statement.

Any Russian citizens whose purpose is tourism and other non-essential travel will be turned back at the border. Exceptions may be granted in cases such as visits to close family residing in Norway, the ministry said in a statement.

"The change implies that the police can refuse the entry of Russian citizens who are covered by the instruction," it said.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters such moves "cannot go unanswered".

He added: "Of course, the decision is purely discriminatory. We do not accept such decisions. We regret that the Norwegian leadership has chosen this way of worsening our bilateral relations, which have already been of poor quality recently, and not on our initiative."

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia did not intend to bar entry to Norwegian citizens. "But this does not mean that retaliatory measures won't be taken. They will be," she told reporters.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; editing by Mark Heinrich)