Relationship dossier
Belarus
Sweden
Relationship assessment
Diplomatic disputes and Swedish support for EU sanctions have strained Belarus–Sweden relations.
Belarus toward Sweden
-40In 2012, Belarus expelled Sweden’s ambassador amid a dispute over a Swedish public-relations campaign involving teddy bears dropped over Belarus. The episode caused a major diplomatic rupture.
Sweden toward Belarus
-35Sweden has supported EU sanctions against Belarusian officials and criticized government repression, while backing Belarusian civil society. These policies have placed Sweden in opposition to the Belarusian government.
Overall relationship
-35The relationship has been shaped by a major Belarusian diplomatic confrontation with Sweden and by Sweden’s subsequent support for EU pressure over repression in Belarus. These disagreements outweigh the limited evidence of substantive bilateral cooperation in this assessment.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Belarus–Sweden relations have been marked by serious diplomatic friction, notably Belarus’s 2012 expulsion of the Swedish ambassador and Sweden’s later support for EU sanctions against Belarusian officials. Sweden has also criticized Belarusian government repression and supported Belarusian civil society. The relationship combines these sustained disagreements with limited evidence here of substantial bilateral cooperation.
Areas of tension
- Belarus’s 2012 expulsion of the Swedish ambassador following the teddy-bear incident.
- Swedish support for EU sanctions and criticism of repression in Belarus.
Key developments
Belarus expelled Sweden’s ambassador amid a dispute over a Swedish public-relations campaign involving teddy bears dropped over Belarus.
Sweden supported EU sanctions against Belarusian officials in response to government repression.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and continuity of direct bilateral cooperation outside sanctions and diplomatic disputes are unclear.
- The extent and implementation of Swedish support for Belarusian civil society are unclear.