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Lavrov's working trip to Minsk postponed after counterpart's death - Foreign Ministry

The visit of Russian Foreign Minister was sheduled for November 27-28

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. A working visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Minsk, scheduled for November 27-28, has been postponed due to the death of his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.

"In connection with the untimely death of Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei on November 26, the decision was made to postpone a joint meeting of the Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries’ boards and the working visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Minsk, scheduled for November 27-28," the ministry said in a release on Sunday.

"A new date of the visit and a joint meeting of the boards will be announced additionally," it said. Sergey Lavrov has sent a telegram to the wife of Vladimir Makei,  extending condolences to his family.

On Saturday, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry informed about a sudden death of the top diplomat.

Vladimir Makei was born in the Grodno Region on August 5, 1958. He graduated from the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages. Makei worked at the Council of Europe and headed the European Cooperation Department of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. In 2000-2008 he was an aide to the Belarusian president. He was appointed foreign minister in August 2012.