The Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, has died at the age of 64. Makei held his post since 2012.
He had attended a conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – a military alliance of several post-Soviet states – in Yerevan earlier this week and was due to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
Before presidential elections and mass anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, Makei had been one of the initiators of efforts to improve Belarus’ relations with the West and criticized Russia.
However, he abruptly changed his stance after the protests began, claiming they were inspired by Western agents.
“We are shocked by reports of the death of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted on her Telegram channel. “Official condolences will be released shortly.”