Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei dies “suddenly”, according to the state

The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. State media outlet Belta reported his death, citing a ministry spokesperson, but did not provide further details.

Macy’s has been in orbit for years Belarusian President Alexander LukashenkoHe became foreign minister in 2012. Mackie previously served as Lukashenko’s aide and later Lukashenko’s chief of staff, according to a biography on the ministry’s website, which says he is married with three children.

Lukashenko expressed his condolences to Macky’s family, Belta reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said last week that Macky was scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week in Minsk, the Belarusian capital.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Lavrov sent a telegram of condolences to Makei’s wife, adding: “The leadership and staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry deeply mourn the sudden death of Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.”

“Vladimir Vladimirovich Makei was a true friend of Russia, and he made a unique contribution to the comprehensive development of broad bilateral cooperation, building integration of the Union State, and strengthening relations between the two brotherly peoples of Russia and Belarus,” the ministry said. .

“We are shocked” by the reports of Makki’s death, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a Saturday post on Telegram.

Throughout the war in Ukraine, Belarus has remained close An ally of the Kremlinwith Lukashenko hosting Russian troops and equipment, allowing Russia to use his country as a staging post for Hundreds of airstrikes against Ukrainian targets and the arrest of hundreds of anti-war demonstrators.

In September, Mackie said in remarks to the United Nations General Assembly that “it is the collective West that must take full responsibility for the ongoing bloodshed in Ukraine,” and that the West “has made this conflict inevitable.”

Natalia Abakumova contributed to this report.