Norway joins EU nations in banning Russian-registered cars

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Norway announced Friday that it will start barring Russian-registered passenger cars from entering the Scandinavian country starting next week, mirroring sanctions imposed by the European Union against Moscow over its war on Ukraine.

Norway, which is a member of NATO but not of the EU, has a 198-kilometer-long (123-mile-long) border in the Arctic with Russia. The Scandinavian country ”stands together with allies and like-minded people in the reactions against the brutal war of aggression by Russia,” Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement.

The ban means that Russian-registered passenger cars with nine or fewer seats can no longer be brought into Norway. Buses and minivans with ten or more seats will still be able to cross the border at Storskog, the sole crossing point between Norway and Russia.

Norway said its ban would start Monday at midnight.