Vladimir Makey, 64, has been the foreign minister of Belarus since 2012.
Belta news agency quoted a spokesman for the Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Anatoly Glaz, as saying that Foreign Minister Vladimir Makey suddenly passed away on November 26.
Belta did not provide any details about the circumstances or cause of the death of the Belarussian Foreign Minister. He is expected to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the coming days.
A professional diplomat, Makey has worked at the Belarus Foreign Ministry since 1993 after graduating from the Austrian Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He represented Belarus to the European Council and was an advisor to the Belarusian Ambassador to Paris (France) in the 1990s.
In the 2000s, he served as assistant to President Aleksandr Lukashenko and led the presidential administration from 2008 to 2012 before taking on the position of foreign minister.
Just a day before his death, Makey met with Vatican Ambassador to Minsk, Ante Jozic. The meeting marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Belarus.
The Belarusese Foreign Ministry said that the two sides discussed bilateral relations, as well as the position of the Catholic Church in Belarus.
In early November, Foreign Minister Makey visited India, meeting with diplomats and businessmen. Mr. Makey also discussed bilateral economic and trade cooperation with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the two diplomats called for a quick resolution through peaceful means - the Belarus Foreign Ministry added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was shocked by the passing of the Belarus Foreign Minister.
