According to a statement by the embassy, "these parliamentarians have been included in a list of persons whose entry to Russia is restricted as part of a 'mirror response' to Norway joining EU sanctions against Russian nationals" as well as to Norway's discriminatory policies regarding the entry of Russian nationals to the Spitsbergen island, adopted in September 2016.
"We would like to stress that the Russian measures were a response to Norway's actions. Russia has no intentions to wage a 'war of lists' either at present or in the future," the embassy said, adding that Moscow "is sincerely interested in mutually-beneficial relations with Oslo, including in contacts between lawmakers."
Earlier in the day, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the refusal by Moscow to issue entry visas for several members of a parliamentarian delegation invited to meet with Russian lawmakers.
Meanwhile, a senior lawmaker from the upper house of Russia's parliament said that Norway rejected Moscow's proposal to give up visa restrictions.
