The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that it was “deeply shocked” by news of the death of Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei.
Makei died at the age of 64, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said Saturday. On its official Facebook account, the ministry said he “suddenly passed away today” without providing more details about the circumstances surrounding his death.
“As head of the Foreign Ministry, he made a great contribution to the further strengthening of Russian-Belarusian relations,” the Russian ministry said.
“He firmly and effectively defended the interests of the Republic of Belarus on international platforms,” the ministry said, adding that “this is a heavy, irreparable loss.”
Makei was scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.
Some context: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who expressed his condolences to Makei’s family and friends on Saturday, is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In October, Belarus announced it would form a joint regional force with Russia and carry out exercises, setting off alarm bells in Kyiv. Makei had accused Ukraine of “impending provocations” against Belarus at that time, which Ukrainian officials vehemently denied.
At the start of the war in late February, Belarusian and Russian forces held joint exercises, with many of those Russian forces going on to cross the Ukrainian border in their ill-fated drive toward the capital.
CNN’s Tim Lister contributed reporting to this post.
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