Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, a close ally of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, has died at the age of 64, the state news agency Belta reported Saturday. Let us see more about Vladimir Makei in detail.
Vladimir Makei Cause of Death
Vladimir Makei, the Belarusian foreign minister, passed away mysteriously. No cause of death was stated. Mr. Makei “died abruptly” at age 64 after holding the office since 2012, according to Belta, a news outlet controlled by Belarus. Mr. Makei visited Yerevan, Armenia, four days before he passed away, and yesterday, he was spotted seeing Archbishop Ante Jozic, raising the possibility that his death was not the consequence of a protracted illness.
Vladimir Makei
Vladimir Makei was born in the hamlet of Niekraševičy. In 1980, he received his diploma from the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Makei served in both the USSR and Belarusian armed forces. The colonel retired in 1993. He received his diploma from the Austrian Diplomatic Academy in 1993.
Makei worked for the ministry as numerous departments’ secretaries (Information and Humanitarian Cooperation, Analysis and Forecast, Office of the Minister, State Protocol Service). He served as a counselor at the Belarusian embassy in France from 1996 to 1999 and concurrently represented Belarus in the Council of Europe.
He had been the foreign affairs minister since August 20, 2012.
Belarusian protests
During the 2020 Belarusian protests, Makei said at the meeting in the Ministry of foreign affairs that everyone who disagreed with the state policy should leave the ministry. He also forbade the staff to participate in the protest activity. Two employees who made a picket with blank sheets of paper were fired in a week (one of them told the journalists that he was fired for “gross violation of his duties”). In February 2021, Makei accused diplomats of calling for unrest and posting “anti-state” information.
Suspicious in death
His abrupt death comes amid rising tensions between NATO and Belarus, as Russia continues to deploy its troops in the country – and just a day after a think tank predicted that Vladimir Putin may attempt to intimidate Belarus into joining the invasion of Ukraine.
The foreign ministry of the Kremlin declared that Russia was “shocked” to learn of the tragedy. According to Sputnik, the press secretary for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Mr “suddenly passed away a few hours ago. None were present, a terrible loss for us all.”
Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, stated in a Telegram message: “The news of Vladimir Makei’s passing as the director of the Republic of Belarus’s foreign ministry has stunned us. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s official condolences will be released soon.”
Assassination attempt?
The US-based Robert Lansing Institute yesterday quoted sources from the top of the Russian military who suggested that Putin would make an assassination attempt on Belarusian president Lukashenko, “or its imitation”.
The goal, according to the research group, was to “ultimately intimidate him and persuade him to eventually order his forces to directly fight in the war on Ukraine, alongside Russian troops.”
False flag Operations in Belarus
The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) also asserted that Russian special services were attempting to launch false flag operations in Belarus, to draw that country into the conflict just days before Mr. Makei’s passing.
The Institute for the Study of War, however, disputed the viability of such a venture, stating that Belarus was unlikely to join the conflict because of the “huge domestic danger that participation would represent to the survival” of Lukashenko’s rule.
Recently, Lukashenko denied rumors that Belarus will take part in the invasion. While Belarus has been used as a staging post for Russian attacks on Ukraine and Moscow has deployed troops and weapons there, it has not taken a more direct role in the war.
Belarus
Makei served as Lukashenko’s chief of staff before being appointed foreign minister in 2012. Belarus received repeated criticism from the West during his presidency for its increasingly repressive treatment of the opposition, its shady election practices, and its decision to host Russian troops during the conflict in Ukraine. He defended Belarus’ stance at the UN Security Council in September.
“Belarus is referred to as an ‘accomplice of the aggressor’ or even a party to the conflict. We have said and continue to say: Belarus has never advocated the war. But we are not traitors either! We have allied commitments, and we are strictly following and will follow the spirit and letter of international treaties to which we are parties,” he said.
Tributes in Social Media
Steve Rosenberg Posted
Belarusian foreign minister Vladimir Makei has “died suddenly” at the age of 64, according to state news agency Belta. No further details. He’d held the post for ten years.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Posted
Deeply saddened by the news of Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei’s passing away. He was a good man & a good friend. Extend my heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family & the people of Belarus. May his soul rest in peace.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has died at the age of 65.
FM spokesman Anatoly Glaz stated that
“He died suddenly a few hours ago <…> Nothing foreshadowed. Even yesterday they were discussing plans for the week <…> A big loss for all of us” Hmm pic.twitter.com/zdWxkUVBVe— Olga Lautman 🇺🇦 (@OlgaNYC1211) November 26, 2022
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