Sunday 27 November 2022 02:29 PM Sudden death of foreign minister of Belarus raises suspicions of foul play trends now
Belarus's long-standing foreign minister has died suddenly, the state news agency Belta reported on Saturday, just days before he was due in Poland to meet key Western officials.
'Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has passed away suddenly,' Belta reported today without giving further detail.
Makei, 64, had held his post since 2012 and wasn't known to suffer from any chronic illness.
He was seen in seemingly good health at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Yerevan just days ago.
His shock death came just one day prior to a scheduled meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, amid Russian suspicions over his back channel liaising with Western interlocutors, it is believed.
On Tuesday, Makei was set to travel to the Polish city of Lodz, where he was invited to attend a Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) council meeting with Western officials.
His invitation came as a surprise given Belarus' complicity in Russia's invasion of Ukraine - Lavrov was not invited.
Belarus' longstanding foreign minister Vladimir Makei has died, Belarusian state media reported today
Makei, 64 (L), had held his post since 2012 and wasn't known to suffer from any chronic illness. He was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov (R) on Monday
Makei is pictured alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei is pictured with former British PM Boris Johnson
Russian opposition politician and human rights activist, Lev Shlosberg, said: 'It is very difficult, almost impossible, to believe in the natural nature of the causes of the death of Vladimir Makei.'
Aleksy Dzikawicki, vice-director of Belsat TV channel, said: 'Few people know, but soon Makei was supposed to be at the OSCE meeting in Lodz - in early December.
'He was invited, but Lavrov was not.'
Before the 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 had criticised Russia.
However, he abruptly changed his stance after the protests were brutally quelled, saying they were inspired by agents of the West.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February, Makei doubled down on the pro-Kremlin stance, claiming the West had provoked the war and that the Ukrainian authorities should agree to the Russian terms of peace.
A few days before the start of the war, Makei promised that there would be no attack on Ukraine from the territory of Belarus. A few days later, Russian troops proved that
