Belarus’ Foreign Minister committed suicide a few days after returning to his country after a meeting with President Vladimir Putin’s officials held in Armenia, a new report says.
Vladimir Makei, 64, reportedly suffered a sudden heart attack on November 26, leading to his death.
However, a report by Nasha Niva, an independent Belarusian media outlet, says the pro-West official took his own life just four days after the summit in Armenia, citing four different sources.
Nasha Niva media reported that Makei’s friends said he was extremely upset by the prospect of a course he had fought for collapsing on his watch. His close friends do not believe that he was murdered.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was planning to replace Makei, who had served as the Foreign Minister since 2012, and aimed to strengthen diplomatic relations with the West. The news outlet reported that the President wanted to replace him, but it was unclear whether this change was to be made at the behest of Russia.
Makei’s colleague, who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity, said that Lukashenko had, in recent times, denied Makei personal attention.
Another anonymous source told the outlet that Makei understood that his high position was soon ending and that after such an important role in the government, Makei did not see himself working elsewhere.
Makei’s friends and colleagues told the media that recently, he had increasingly felt like he was “unnecessary,” and other times, he felt “out of place.”
About seven months before his death, Makei had told someone a quote from someone he did not remember, which said that if someone was to be executed, it was better to be murdered for being loyal than for committing an act of treason.
News of his death came after a report citing internal strategy documents said Russia planned to take over Belarus by 2030. The US ambassador to Europe’s Organization for Security and Cooperation, Michael Carpenter, told the outlet that Russia’s goals with Belarus are the same as Ukraine, the only difference being that they would use internal coercion in Belarus instead of war.
