The Kremlin is “shocked” by the death of Vladimir Makéi, a man close to President Alexander Lukashenko
The Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makéi, died this Saturday “suddenly” at the age of 64, reported the ministry’s spokesman, Anatoly Glaz, who did not add more details about it, according to the BelTA news agency. The last known service of his was to travel to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, to participate in a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) led by Moscow. The next Monday he was to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Minsk.
Considered a man close to his president, Alexander Lukashenko, he served between 2000 and 2008 as head of the Presidential Administration. In fact, Makéi was also considered a possible successor to Lukashenko, who has ruled with an iron fist since 1994.
Role in Defense
Until 1993 he worked in the internal bodies of the Ministry of Defense to later play the role of counselor at the Belarusian Embassy in France and representative of his country before the Council of Europe.
The first reaction came from its main ally, the Kremlin. “We are shocked by reports of the death of the Belarusian foreign minister,” said Russian foreign spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Her Embassy recalled “the great contribution” of Makéi “to the strengthening of Russian-Belarusian relations, and to the construction and progressive development of the State of the Union”, referring to the alliance forged between the two countries.
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