Moscow criticised Norway’s decision to ban Russian-registered private cars with nine or fewer seats – which came into force on Wednesday as part of EU sanctions against Russia – and promised a coordinated response with relevant ministries.
“Including Norway in this particular ban was instrumental for the EU as Russian cars managed to pass from Russia to Finland through Norway”, an EU source close to the matter told Euractiv.
Border controls between Finland and Norway are generally not very strict for travellers from the Schengen area, as both countries are members of the passport-free travel zone.
As a result, Russian cars continued to travel from Norway to Finland, which fully implemented the ban on 16 September, after the European Commission’s 8 September policy update stressed the importance of complying with sanctions on Russian cars.
According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, the relevant departments are currently in contact to work out a response.
“I can say that the actions of the said European Union countries will not remain without a proper reaction,” she said during a briefing on Wednesday.
Zakharova’s comments came two days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the ban imposed by several European countries on Russian-registered cars entering their territories as a manifestation of Nazism.
“This is a manifestation of what is commonly called Nazism against Russians only,” the Russian minister stressed Monday after Bulgaria said it would implement the car ban.
Lavrov went on to say that it shows the astonishing speed with which the representatives of European countries have lost their sense of decency.
(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)
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