The longtime Belarusian foreign minister died “suddenly”, the Belarusian state news agency reported.
Vladimir Makei, who had held the position since 2012, was 64 years old.
He attended a conference in the Armenian capital Yerevan earlier this week and was due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
“Foreign Minister Vladimir Macky died suddenly,” Belta news agency reported, without giving further details.
Ahead of the 2020 presidential elections, it led to Major anti-government protests in BelarusMackey was one of those who sought to improve Belarus’ relations with the West.
He also criticized Russia.
But when the protests started, he said they were inspired by Western agents.
And after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, the West is said to have provoked war.
A few days before the start, on February 24, he promised that there would be no attack on Ukraine from Belarus, and it soon turned out that he was wrong.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said her country was “shocked” by the news of Macky’s death.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who remained in power despite protests in 2020, also expressed his condolences.
But exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Cichanouska said: “In 2020, Maci betrayed the Belarusian people and supported autocracy.
“That’s how Belarusians will remember him.”
