Belarus foreign minister and Putin ally dies ‘after secret talks to end war in Ukraine’

The foreign minister of Belarus has suddenly died today after reportedly holding secret talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Makei, 64, was seen as the only main channel of communication to the West in dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s hardline pro-Russia regime.

His death mysteriously came the day after he met with the Pope’s envoy Ante Jozić where they reportedly discussed a secret peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.

Career spy Makei had been foreign minister for a decade and was due to host Vladimir Putin ’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Minsk on Sunday and Monday.

Lavrov’s spokeswoman said Russia was “shocked” at his passing.

Keep reading

Belarus Claims Alleged Russian War Crimes Were Staged by Britain

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has accused Britain of staging a “psychological operation” in Bucha, Ukraine, where Russia has been accused of committing war crimes after reports and pictures emerged of mass graves of people allegedly killed by Russian forces.

Appearing at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far Eastern Amur Oblast region of Russia, Lukashenko claimed to have provided his chief ally, Vladimir Putin, with evidence that the events in Bucha were staged by the British.

“Today we’ve discussed this special operation of theirs in detail – a psychological operation staged by Englishmen,” the Belarusian strongman said according to the state news agency Belta.

“Together with our Russian friends we have gotten to the bottom of this nasty and disgusting position of the West from the first hour to the last one,” he added.

Lukashenko did not offer up any evidence of the claim that Bucha was staged by the UK, but said that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) could provide “addresses, passwords, places of secret meetings, plate numbers and brands of the vehicles those people used to come to Bucha and how they did it.”

Vladimir Putin, for his part, also claimed that Bucha was staged, claiming that it was a “false flag”, comparing it to chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

Keep reading