Belarus' foreign minister Vladimir Makei has died at the age of 64, with no official explanation provided for the politician's death.
Belarusian state news agency Belta reported on Saturday: "Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has passed away suddenly."
Makei has held his post in office since 2012 and was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
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Only four days prior to the Foreign Minister's death he had attended a conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – a military union of several post soviet states – in Yerevan, Armenia.
The extremely abrupt death of the politician is currently shrouded in mystery, with tensions rising between Belarus and NATO regarding Belarus involvement in the Ukraine War. Russia is reportedly piling pressure on Belarus to join Russian troops on the frontline of the war.
This news comes only a day after American think tank, the Robert Lansing Institute, claimed Putin was on the verge of assassinating Belarusian President in an attempt to intimidate Belarus into joining the Ukrainian War and fighting alongside Russian troops.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "We are shocked by the reports of the death of the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei. Official condolences will be published soon."
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Makei was once a big critic of Russia. Before the mass anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, Makei spoke of his desire to improve Belarus relationship with Western Europe, as well as criticise Russia.
He did however quickly change his tune after the start of the protests.
Whilst Belarus have allowed Russian troops and artillery to be deployed in the country, they are not engaged in the war with Ukraine.
Speaking at the CSTO, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenkox said: "We are not getting involved, we don't kill anyone, we don't send personnel over there because there is no need for it."
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