Tobias Billström. Photo: Lotte Fernvall
Belarus has angrily sent home its ambassador from Stockholm, writes Radio Free Europe. In turn, Sweden has recalled its top diplomat from Minsk.
The dispute is said to stem from a previous announcement by Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.
It is unclear when Ambassador Dmitrij Mironchyk left Sweden, but according to the international media company Radio Free Europe, he has been ordered back to Minsk by Lukashenko’s regime.
Sweden, in turn, has recalled its chargé d’affaires Eva Sundqvist, who has been the country’s highest representative at the embassy in Minsk since September 2022. This is reported by Radio Free Europe’s Russian-language edition Radio Svoboda, which calls the dispute ”a diplomatic scandal”.
Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms the information to Radio Free Europe. ”Sweden’s temporary chargé d’affaires in Minsk is currently in Stockholm for consultations. The work at the embassy in Minsk continues as usual,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press department.
Named representative
The background is that two months ago, the government named former Minsk ambassador Christina Johannesson as the official Swedish representative to the Belarusian opposition in exile.
Sweden followed the example of France, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland in appointing a special envoy in its contacts with the Belarusian pro-democracy movement, according to Radio Free Europe.
Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) made the announcement during a visit to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on November 6th. In a speech on Sweden’s stance towards Belarus, he emphasized that pressure should continue on the regime and that contacts with the opposition, led by Svetlana Tichanovskaja, should be deepened.
Billström’s response: ”She won the election”
On the same day, Billström was interviewed in Vilnius. He was asked if he considers Tichanovskaja to be the country’s legitimate president after the disputed 2020 election, when the regime cracked down on popular protests.
”We recognize her as a person who won the election and who should have been sworn in as the president of Belarus,” said Billström according to Radio Free Europe.
The media outlet now reports, citing diplomatic sources in Minsk, that the appointment of Christina Johannesson angered Lukashenko’s regime and led to the decision to recall the ambassador. According to Radio Free Europe, Belarus also demanded that Eva Sundqvist be sent back to Stockholm.
Aftonbladet has unsuccessfully sought the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
To Radio Free Europe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service states that ”negotiations” have taken place with Belarusian representatives after Christina Johannesson was appointed, but that there are ”no concrete reactions to report”.
