A sombre Alexander Lukashenko bade farewell at the open-topped coffin of his long-serving foreign minister today as speculation continues to churn over whether the diplomat may have been assassinated.
The Belarusian president has reportedly ordered toxicology tests after Vladimir Makei died suddenly at the weekend.
The security team charged with guarding Makei are also being subjected to lie detector tests, reported Telegram channel Obraz Buduschego (Vision of the Future).
Makei’s funeral was held in Minsk this morning amid as yet unverified claims the veteran diplomat and former spy, 64, was killed in a Moscow sting operation due to his clandestine contacts with the West concerning the war in Ukraine and efforts to prevent Belarus being incorporated into Russia by Vladimir Putin.
A sombre Lukashenko stands over the open coffin of foreign minister Vladimir Makei
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko prepares to pay respects at the funeral of his longtime foreign minister Vladimir Makei, 64, who died suddenly of unexplained causes
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, 64, died in undisclosed circumstances
Lukashenko appeared troubled as he paid respects to his fallen right hand man, and a dark look crossed his face as he stepped up to the coffin and rested his hand on its edge and glanced downward.
The funeral ceremony was also attended by State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Dmitry Mezentsev, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, and Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Rudenko.
Several reports claim Makei’s death has ‘shaken’ Lukashenko, who now fears for his own safety.
The tyrant has replaced his own cooks and servants, fearing assassination by Moscow, it is claimed.
The Telegram channel ‘Vision of the Future’ said the results of multiple post-mortem tests will be ready tomorrow.
‘The security and security staff of Makei’s house in Drozdy will be interrogated and undergo polygraph tests,’ it was reported.
Makei’s death has triggered swirling speculation amid tensions caused by Lukashenko’s refusal to back Putin’s war by deploying Belarus troops, and resistance to his country being swallowed up by Russia.
A small group of dignitaries watch on at the funeral of Makei
A smiling portrait of Makei adorns his coffin in Minsk, Belarus, this morning
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, 64, died in undisclosed circumstances. Pictured with Alexander Lukashenko.
Exiled Putin critic and businessman Leonid Nevzlin alleged that Makei ‘died as a result of poisoning developed in an FSB special laboratory’.
He cited sources ‘close to the Russian special services’.
A video shows Makei looking healthy on a Belarus military cargo plane last week shortly before he died. He wasn’t known to suffer from any chronic illness.
Nevzlin said: ‘The clinical picture in such cases corresponds to death from stroke or heart failure.’
Makei was due this week to attend an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Poland where he would meet key Western politicians and officials – a session from which Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was barred.
Makei will be buried at the Vostochnoye Cemetery in Minsk.
Vladimir Makei is pictured with his wife Vera Polyakova-Makei
A video taken just days ago showed Makei seemingly healthy as he boarded a Belarusian military jet
Exiled Putin critic and businessman Leonid Nevzlin alleged that Makei ‘died as a result of poisoning developed in an FSB special laboratory’
Nevzlin claimed his poisoning theory ‘is supported by the fact that the 64-year-old official had no health problems, was leading an active lifestyle and was making plans.
‘When he suddenly got a heart condition, he did not go to doctors as he had not experienced such problems before and did not give any importance to the pain.’
Telegram channel General SVR also claimed that Makei was assassinated.
It was ‘planned, prepared and implemented on the personal initiative of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin,’ alleged a new post.
‘No-one really hides the fact that this is murder from Lukashenko.
‘The action was demonstrative and aimed at disrupting Lukashenko’s separate negotiations with the West and China.’
This version of Makei’s demise suggests the foreign minister was engaged in secret links to the West at Lukashenko’s behest in a geopolitical power play.
A ‘healthy’ Makei died soon after returning from a trip to Armenia where he met top Russian officials and hours before he was due to host Russia’s Lavrov in Minsk.
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