Estonia agreed on Thursday to represent Sweden’s visa-related interests in Belarus after Minsk expelled Swedish diplomats in the so-called “teddy bears trooping.”
On July 4 a Swedish public relations company chartered a light aircraft that invaded Belarusian airspace to drop about 800 teddy bears with pro-democracy messages emphasizing the lack of human rights in the former Soviet republic.
The stunt led to a row between Belarus and Sweden and the expulsion of Swedish diplomats from Minsk. Belarus has also withdrawn its embassy staff from Stockholm.
The agreement between Tallinn and Stockholm that allows Estonia to handle Sweden’s visa-related issues in Belarus comes into force on August 20.
Belarusian-EU relations took a nosedive in late February, when the EU expanded its sanctions against Belarus over human rights violations, while Minsk advised all the EU ambassadors to leave the country. In late March the EU further expanded the list of restricted Belarusian officials and companies.
