RUSSIA’S Culture Ministry is to allow the release of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” — but children under the age of 16 will not be allowed to see it.

    The ministry has granted permission for the film — due out in Russia next week — to be screened with a 16+ age rating.

    The decision comes after a Russian MP petitioned Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky to ban it over the inclusion of a gay character.

    A Russian law prohibits the spreading of “gay propaganda” among minors.

    The 2013 legislation, which angered human rights activists and the international gay community, describes homosexuality as “non-traditional sexual relations.”

    “Beauty and the Beast” director Bill Condon has spoken about the “exclusively gay moment” in the film.

    It involves LeFou, played by U.S. actor Josh Gad, who is a sidekick of the film’s main antagonist Gaston.

    LeFou tries to come to terms with feelings for Gaston that swing between lust and admiration, as a side-plot to the main story.

    Emma Watson plays Belle, the young girl who falls in love with a monstrous beast with a dark secret.

    Her suitors — the Beast and Gaston — are played by British stars Dan Stevens and Luke Evans.

    The rest of the cast includes Ewan McGregor, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kevin Kline and Stanley Tucci.

    (SD-Agencies)