OREANDA-NEWS. The Swedish government has decided that now in official appeals to Belarus it will use only the name "Belarus" (Belarus), and not "Vitryussland" (Vitryssland, vit translated from Swedish - "Belaya", Ryssland - "Russia"), as previously. This was announced by Kingdom Minister of Foreign Affairs Anne Linde in an article published on Monday in the Swedish newspaper.

“This is a recognition of the Belarusian civil society and people, who for a long time strove to emphasize the national identity and sovereignty of their country”, writes the head of the Swedish Foreign Ministry. Thus, the foreign ministry refuses the name, which may cause association with Russia: the ending “-Russia,” as Linde writes, “doesn't indicate Russia”.

Information on the decision of the Foreign Ministry came in connection with the joint visit of Ann Linda and her Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto to Minsk. The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also refers to the fact that the transition from the use of the name "Vitryusland" to the name "Belarus" has already occurred in English and French.