Belarus appointed yesterday its first ambassador to Sweden for almost six years, resolving a bitter diplomatic spat over a pro-democracy stunt involving teddy bears.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko appointed foreign ministry spokesman Dmitry Mironchik as the new ambassador to Sweden, his official website said.
The move ended hostile relations dating back to July 2012 when a group of Swedish activists parachuted teddy bears carrying pro-democracy messages into the ex-Soviet country.
Mironchik told Belarusian state television that “now we can say the Ice Age in relations between Belarus and Sweden has officially ended”.
Lukashenko was furious after activists managed to fly a small plane into Belarusian air space from Lithuania and drop some 800 toys, attached to little parachutes and holding signs calling for freedom of speech and human rights.
The Belarusian strongman, who has been in power since 1994, reacted by expelling Swedish diplomats and recalling Belarusian diplomats, although Belarus and Sweden never severed diplomatic ties.
Lukashenko also fired the foreign minister, the country’s top border control official, and the air force commander.




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