Lithuania's Embassy In Minsk Attacked

Teddy bears bearing pro-democracy messages were parachuted into the outskirts of Minsk earlier this year by a Swedish light aircraft, which had reportedly entered Belarusian air space via Lithuania.

Lithuania says it will lodge a formal protest after unidentified individuals threw Molotov cocktails at its embassy in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, in a late-night attack on November 6.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said on November 7 that it would summon Belarus's envoy to Vilnius and present him with a protest note over the incident.

Lithuanian Ambassador to Belarus Linas Linkevicius said on November 7 that "it was pure luck that we avoided damage as the consequences could have been much worse."

Lithuania and Belarus, whose capitals lie just 190 kilometers apart, have rocky diplomatic relations despite their trade ties.

The latest stand-off between Minsk and Vilnius began in July in the wake of a scandal over a teddy-bear airdrop in Minsk.

Belarusian authorities demanded explanations from Lithuania for allegedly allowing a Swedish plane to enter Belarusian air space from Lithuania on July 4 to drop teddy bears on Minsk accompanied by texts supporting Belarusian dissidents and the country’s opposition.
Based on reporting by AFP and delfi.lt