Russian-registered cars with nine or fewer seats will not be able to enter Norway from midnight on Oct. 2, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry announced on Sept. 29.

Several European countries bordering Russia, namely Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Finland, have already banned entry for cars under Russian license plates following recommendations by the European Commission.

While Norway is not an EU member, it is a member of NATO and has joined many of the sanctions imposed by Europian countries against Moscow. Norway and Russia share a nearly 200-kilometer-long border in the Arctic.

However, the ban does not apply to vehicles with more than nine seats, such as minibuses.

Diplomatic vehicles, cars owned by Norwegian citizens and their family members with Russian permanent residency, or cars travelling for reasons such as family funerals or acute illness, are also allowed according to the new rules.

Latvia plans to expel cars under Russian, Belarusian registration

The Latvian government is preparing a bill preventing cars under Russian and Belarusian registration from staying in the country, Latvia’s Justice Minister Inese Lībiņa-Egnere said on Sept. 22.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek