Teddy bears provoke Belarusian response

VILNIUS - President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on Aug. 9 that neighboring Lithuania will “be punished” for the teddy bear stunt, reports Belarusian Belta. Lukashenko says that Lithuanians should be held accountable for the fact that a Swedish plane, with teddy bears, allegedly took off from a Lithuanian town and then violated the Belarusian border.

“Sweden and Lithuania should be held accountable for their actions in accordance with international law. We are already working on it. Should they not respond in a manner prescribed in international law, we will find an adequate response for this teddy bear thing... They should not be sitting as mice under the broom. We are waiting on them to inform us as to why they allowed using their space for the violation of the state border of another country. Lithuania may rest assured there will be plenty [to pay] for it,” the Belarusian president said.

“They should thank God that tolerant Belarusians spared the lives of these pilots. They were detected right over the border. We showed compassion, but got a scandal in return. However, that was in violation of all agreements,” he added.
Swedish advertising agency Studio Total recently flew a small private plane over Belarusian airspace, dropping stuffed toy bears with messages of free speech.