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 this week in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“We are shocked by the reports of Macky’s death,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a post on Telegram, adding that the ministry would offer condolences.

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.”