EU diplomats in crisis talks over Belarus-Sweden teddy bear crisis

Diplomats from European Union governments were set to hold crisis talks on Friday to discuss a response to Belarus' expulsion of Swedish diplomats over a so-called "teddy bear" incident, dpa reported. Relations between the two countries soured after a Swedish public relations firm used a small plane to drop more than 800 teddy bears near the Belarussian capital Minsk carrying messages championing freedom of speech. In response, the country's authoritarian president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, expelled Sweden's ambassador last week and kicked out Stockholm's four remaining diplomats on Wednesday. In their extraordinary meeting, starting at 2.45 pm (1245 GMT), diplomats "will study the appropriate response of the European Union," a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told reporters. A statement announcing a decision was expected at 4 pm, the spokesman, Sebastien Brabant, added. EU nations already took action in February, when they recalled their envoys from Minsk after Lukashenko's regime expelled the ambassador from Poland and the head of the EU delegation. EU ambassadors returned to the country in April.