Belarus expels Latvia's ambassador, retaliated with the same measure: State flag replaced by opposition flag

Belarus today ordered the expulsion of the ambassador and the entire staff of the Embassy of Latvia in Minsk, accusing the Latvian authorities of replacing the national Belarusian flag with the flag of the opposition during the world hockey competition.

"The Latvian ambassador has been asked to leave the country in 24 hours. The entire diplomatic, administrative and technical staff of the embassy has also been asked to leave Belarus within 48 hours," Foreign Minister Vladimir Makej said, the official Belta news agency reported.

Shortly after this announcement, Latvia announced that it was expelling the Belarusian ambassador and Belarusian diplomats.

Belarus is the target of international criticism because of yesterday's forced landing of an Irish Ryanair plane in Minsk and the arrest of a Belarusian opposition journalist who was among the passengers.

A plane flying from Athens to Vilnius, in Lithuania, another Baltic republic, was grounded due to an alleged bomb threat.

Latvian Ambassador Einars Emanis was invited to the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an interview after "insults to the national flag of the Republic of Belarus".

Today, at the place where the flags of the countries participating in the ongoing world hockey championship were raised, the Belarusian national flag was replaced by the red and white flag of the Belarusian opposition.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makej said that such provocative actions cannot go unanswered.

Riga Mayor Martins Stakis and Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevičs participated in the flag exchange.

"Among the flags of the World Hockey Championship, we are raising the flag of free Belarus. That flag was given to us by the political refugees of Belarus. A flag that symbolizes a regime engaged in state terrorism has no place in Riga," Riga Mayor Martins Stakis wrote on Twitter.