Belarus withdraws embassy staff from Sweden as row over teddy bear parachute drop escalates

It follows stunt by Swedish PR firm in Belarussian airspace last month

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was left furious



The leader is now taking his fury out on Sweden

A diplomatic row between Belarus and Sweden over teddy bears escalated today when the eastern European country withdrew its embassy staff from Stockholm.

Belarus also told Sweden to take similar action with its diplomats in Minsk.

It all stems from a stunt by a Swedish PR which parachuted 800 teddy bears into Belarus last month.

Scroll down for video

PR stunt: Teddy bears parachuting over a residential area in Minsk, Belarus on July 4 Diplomatic row: The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko (pictured), has sacked senior members of his staff over the teddy bear incident and is now taking his fury out on Sweden The company chartered a light aircraft which invaded Belarussian airspace to drop the bears, all of which highlighted the lack of human rights in the former Soviet state.

A furious Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko, has sacked senior members of his staff over the incident and is now taking his fury out on Sweden.

Belarus expelled Sweden's ambassador on August 3. The Belarussian ambassador to Stockholm was also withdrawn.

The foreign ministry said Minsk was now pulling out its remaining embassy staff because Sweden had aggravated the situation by expelling two more diplomats and had refused to allow a new Belarussian ambassador to take up his post.

'In this connection, the Belarussian side has been forced to take the decision to withdraw its embassy in Sweden and bring back all its (embassy) staff to Belarus,' the statement said.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter: ' His fear of human rights reaching new heights.'



Swedish Tomas Mazetti, left, and Hannah Frey, right, show a teddy bear on a parachute before the stunt was unleashed The diplomatic row between Belarus and Sweden was stepped up after 800 teddy bears were dropped over the eastern European country The teddies, with pro democracy signs attached, were dropped by Swedish activists from Studio Total. The incident was initially denied by the authorities

The incident was a humiliation for President Alexander Lukashenko, a hardliner who has been in power in Belarus since 1994 and is on poor terms with the West because of his harsh policies towards the political opposition.

European Union ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting on Friday on the issue, an EU source in Brussels said.

'There will be an emergency meeting of the European Union ambassadors Friday to decide on appropriate measures,' the source said on condition of anonymity, adding that the meeting would be held in Brussels.

Sweden's four remaining diplomats in Belarus have been ordered to leave the authoritarian-ruled country following a 'teddy bear' incident that has soured relations between the two countries Time to leave: An Swedish embassy employee adjusts a Swedish flag on a Swedish embassy in the centre of Minsk, Belarus

Bildt last week said ambassador Stefan Eriksson, who took up the post in Minsk in 2008, was expelled because of his pro-rights stance and meetings he had with the Belarus opposition.

Stockholm retaliated immediately, saying it would not welcome a new ambassador named by Minsk to replace an envoy who left the post several weeks ago, and withdrew residency permits for two Belarus diplomats who were asked to leave the Scandinavian country.

' [Lukashenko's] fear of human rights reaching new heights.' Swedenish Minister Carl Bildt



Belarus foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Savinykh denied last week that Eriksson had been expelled, saying instead in more diplomatic language that 'a decision was made not to renew his credentials.'

Eriksson's 'activity was aimed not at strengthening Belarusian-Swedish relations but destroying them,' he said.

On Wednesday, Minsk said in a statement it was 'forced to take a decision to recall its diplomatic staff from Sweden and return its employees to Belarus,' stressing however it was not severing diplomatic ties with Stockholm.

It also gave Stockholm until August 30 to remove all of its diplomats from Minsk.

Sweden has been actively pushing for democracy in Belarus.

An activist from women's rights group Femen fights with a police officer, as the group protests against the plans of Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko to attend the Euro 2012 final in July

Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter: 'His fear of human rights reaching new heights.'

Lukashenko's re-election in December 2010, marred by fraud, led Stockholm to focus its Belarus strategy on democracy, human rights and equality.

'The state-run international development policy and the lack of a clear democratisation process make the cooperation particularly challenging,' the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency said on its website.

Bildt reiterated Sweden's commitment to Belarusian human rights on Wednesday, writing on Twitter: 'We remain strongly committed to the freedom of Belarus and all its citizens. They deserve the freedoms and the rights of the rest of Europe.'

By meeting with members of the opposition, ambassador Eriksson 'followed the policies that Sweden defends', Bildt said last week.

Sweden's embassy in Minsk opened in 2008. Prior to that, the country was represented by its mission in Moscow, which had a representative in Minsk.

The embassy counts four diplomats and a SIDA representative, as well as a handful of local staff.

'Two or three diplomats are currently there,' ministry spokesman Joerle said.

Belarus is under a raft of sanctions by the European Union over the plight of political prisoners in the country.

VIDEO: One of the men behind the stunt has received death threats... see why...