Wit-Rusland wijst Zweedse ambassadeur uit (en)

BRUSSELS - Belarus has kicked out Sweden's ambassador to Minsk in a rerun of events six months ago.

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt tweeted on Friday (3 August) that the diplomat, Stefan Eriksson, was expelled "for being too supportive of human rights." He added: "Outrageous. Shows nature of regime."

The Swedish foreign ministry said it will give marching orders to Belarus' envoy to Stockholm and one of his colleagues.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton i said the Political and Security Committee formed of member states' diplomats will at its next meeting in Brussels discuss "appropriate EU measures."

A Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman, Andrei Savinykh, told the Belta news agency that Eriksson is guilty of "destroying" Belarusian-Swedish relations.

"If the Swedish side is eager to aggravate the situation, we will be forced to respond adequately," he added.

The dispute comes after a Swedish PR firm on 4 July air-dropped teddy bears in Belarus carrying little parachutes and placards calling for free speech.

President Alexander Lukashanko fired two security chiefs in response and has said any future intruders into his airspace will be shot down.

Belarus in February expelled the EU and the Polish ambassadors to Minsk because the EU imposed sanctions on one of his oligarch and ice hockey friends.

The EU at the time pulled out all of its Belarus ambassadors in an act of solidarity. But they trickled back a few weeks later to continue their work.

Tit-for-tat expulsions earlier took place in 1998 because Lukashenko wanted to evict EU and US diplomats from a leafy residential compound so he could move there himself. His methods included cutting off water and electricity and welding the gate to the US envoy's residence. The ambassadors returned the following year, after Belarus pledged to respect international law on diplomats' rights.