MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta said on Wednesday that newly-issued visa rules for foreigners traveling to Russia do not include any additional obstacles.

The new rules set by the Foreign Ministry on receiving, extending, renewing and annulling visas are published in today's issue of Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

"The new rules are based entirely on existing laws," and relate to foreign citizens and individuals without citizenship, the paper said.

"The regulations have not been tightened and no additional limitations have been imposed. In this sense nothing has changed. It is in fact a set of instructions for foreign nationals on what they must do to obtain a Russian visa," the paper said.