Belarus official’s death not explained
Sought to mend ties with West
The death of a top official who led Belarus’s failed attempts to improve its relations with the West comes as the country faces increasing pressure from Russia to get involved in the war in Ukraine that is raging across its border.
The official, Vladimir Makei, 64, served 10 years as foreign minister of Belarus, a key geopolitical battleground between Russia and the West. He died suddenly over the weekend, Belarusian state media said without offering explanation.
Makei helped his country’s veteran dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, in a series of abortive efforts to balance Moscow’s increasingly dominant influence with outreach to the United States and the European Union. His efforts came even as the country became a staging ground for the invasion of Ukraine in February.
His death, which Belarusian state media reported Saturday without giving any cause or the customary tributes, stirred a flurry of speculation among commentators, exiled opposition activists, and Ukrainian officials about why the diplomat, who was not known to be suffering any serious health problems, had suddenly died.
One Belarusian media outlet, Nasha Niva, said he had died at home in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, from a heart attack. But other reports, based on unconfirmed rumors, suggested he might have been poisoned.
No evidence of foul play has come to light, but the rumors reflected the climate of fear and suspicion that, according to former Belarusian government insiders, now grips even Lukashenko’s most loyal followers at a time of high tension created by the war in neighboring Ukraine.
While Belarus allowed its territory to serve as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion, it has resisted pressure from Moscow to get more involved by sending its own troops to Ukraine.
Makei had been scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, this week and travel to Poland for an annual gathering of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Lukashenko, in power since 1994 but increasingly beholden to the Kremlin to maintain his position as Europe’s longest-serving leader, has not spoken about Makei’s death or paid tribute to his long service. The state news agency, Belta, on Saturday, published a one-line article saying that the president had offered condolences to Makei’s family.
The foreign minister’s last known official meeting was Friday with the apostolic nuncio in Minsk. A person close to the Vatican diplomatic service said the nuncio, the Vatican’s equivalent of an ambassador, did not notice anything unusual about Makei’s physical condition. The foreign minister told the nuncio he was tired but attributed this to a hectic travel schedule.
Foreign diplomats who had worked with Makei over the years remembered him as one of the few senior Belarusian officials who could engage in civil conversations with Western leaders while remaining a trusted member of Lukashenko’s inner circle.
“Makei was a member of an inner circle of Lukashenko from the very beginning, first as chief of staff and later as the foreign minister,” said Vygaudas Usackas, the former foreign minister of Lithuania, Belarus’s neighbor to the west. “But he was also trying to walk a fine line in terms of keeping options and doors open to talk to the European Union and the West in general until the very last moment.
“While understanding the dependence of the regime on Moscow, he was seeking the options of keeping the openings with the West,” Usackas added.