Oslo - Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor Friday said it would appeal a Russian court ruling to hold it liable for some 1.7 billion dollars in damages.

The case centred on Telenor's stake in Russian mobile phone operator Vimpelcom and the latest ruling was made by a court in Omsk, Siberia.

British Virgin Islands-based group Farimex Products claimed that Telenor's nominees on the Vimpelcom board delayed the group's 2005 acquisition of Ukrainian mobile operator Ukrainian Radio Systems (URS), a claim Telenor said it refuted.

Telenor said the opposition to the deal was due to that "URS was over-valued and had no credible business plan."

The "court decision is a serious violation of Telenor's lawful rights and interests as a strategic investor in Russia," said Jan Edvard Thygesen, head of Telenor's Central and Eastern European operations.

"We will continue to defend our investment in Vimpelcom," Thygesen added in the statement. The ruling was made by the Eighth Arbitrazh Appellate Court. (dpa)