British newspaper journalist Luke Harding, who was expelled from Moscow a week ago in a row over his accreditation, has been given a new visa to re-enter the country, Interfax reported Sunday.
The agency cited the Russian embassy in London as saying that Harding, 42, a correspondent for the Guardian, had received the visa and would soon be flying back to Russia, dpa reported.
The development comes after Harding's previous visa was cancelled by Moscow amid accusations by the Russian Foreign Ministry that he had violated several regulations.
Harding's previous visa was valid until May. But following a visito to the Guardian's London offices, he was denied re-entry into Russia when he flew back to Moscow early last week.
That incident triggered a brief war of words between Russia and Britain, coming just ahead of a visit to Britain by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, amid allegations in London that Harding was being denied re-entry because of his critical reporting about Russia.
Moscow denied this, saying that the newsman had "broken the rules" regarding his accreditation.
British officials had also conceded that Harding had previously been warned about several apparent breaches of his status as a foreign correspondent after allegedly visiting classified areas and border zones in Russia without permission.
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