Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and his wife have given two seven-month old orphaned bears to the Swiss capital, Bern.

According to the authorities in Bern, the animals are gifts given in connection with Medvedev's visit to Switzerland scheduled for next week.

The bears, which were flown to Switzerland on Monday, are being kept in quarantine in a part of the city's former bear pit screened off from public view.

The newcomers join two other bears in Bern, Finn and Björk, who are currently housed in the city's zoo.

The authorities would not say which of the bears would live in the new bear park which is currently under construction next door to the pit.

The park, which opens at the end of October, stretches down to the river and is designed to give the animals much more space and a more natural environment than before.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

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