Belarus has decided to summon its ambassador from Stockholm, Sweden was recommended to do the same, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry reports.
Sweden expelled two Belarusian diplomats, including a charge d’affaires. The new ambassador to Sweden did not receive permission for entrance. As a result, the Belarusian Embassy has only two junior diplomats without authority operating in Sweden. The embassy will close down before August 30, 2012.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry added that this does not mean an end to diplomatic relations between the two states, although the ministry accused Sweden of aggravating the conflict. Belarus provide full services in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It is a violation of article 3 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.
The Belarusian-Swedish scandal started when a Swedish plane illegally entering the aerospace of Belarus started throwing teddy bears with notes criticizing freedom of speech in the state.
