Belarus

MINSK, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Minister Vladimir Makei has died suddenly at the age of 64.

Spokesman Anatoly Glaz made the announcement without providing further details.

Makei had held the post since 2012. Before that, he served as an aide to President Alexander Lukashenko and the president's chief of staff.

Lukashenko offered his condolences to Makei's family, according to the presidential office.

Makei was scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Minsk on Monday.

MINSK, November 26. /TASS/: Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has passed away, the Belarusian news agency BelTA reported on Saturday.

"Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has died," the report said citing Anatoly Glaz, spokesman for the country’s Foreign Ministry.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

MINSK, November 7. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that the citizens of European countries wish to live in peace, but their authorities are unable to "put out the fire in their own home."

"Germany, the whole of Europe - there are no leaders now. But even if there were some... They can't even put out the fire in their own house," the BelTA news agency quotes him as saying.

MINSK, October 21. /TASS/: Belarus does not plan to go to war with anyone, the country does not need war, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said during an inspection of military-industrial products in the Brest Region.

"We are not going to go anywhere today. No war as of now. We don’t need it," Lukashenko said, according to BelTA.

The Belarusian President once again debunked the information spreading on social media that the republic carries out a hidden mobilization, suggesting not to pay attention to "this wailing."

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Belarus said on Wednesday it was unable to repay its foreign currency-denominated debt due to sanctions imposed on it by the European Union and the United States.

The World Bank said on Monday it had placed all loans made by its main lending arm to Belarus into "nonperforming" status effective immediately, citing overdue payments amounting to $68.43 million.

MINSK, October 15. /TASS/: The Ukraine conflict may be resolved within a week, and that depends on the United States and the United Kingdom, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with NBC, excerpts of which were quoted by BelTA news agency on Saturday.

"It all depends on the US and the UK. If tomorrow you realize that we need to sit down at the negotiating table and find a solution, believe me, we will find a solution within a week," Lukashenko said.

Oct 14 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned Ukraine and the West on Friday not to force his ally Russia into a corner, saying Moscow had nuclear weapons for a reason.

In extracts of an interview with the American TV channel NBC released by Belarus's state news agency, Lukashenko said: "The most important thing is, don't drive your interlocutor and even your opponent into a corner. So you mustn't cross those lines - those red lines, as the Russians say. You can't cross them."

MINSK, October 10. /TASS/: The leader of NATO and some European countries are considering options to carry out aggression against Belarus, up to conducting a nuclear attack, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting on security issues on Monday.

MINSK, September 17. /TASS/: The United States has been pushing Europe towards an armed confrontation with Russia in Ukraine with the aim of weakening Russia and destroying Belarus, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko told the audience at the patriotic forum This is Our History on the occasion of Popular Unity Day, marked on Saturday.

MINSK, September 1. /TASS/: Belarus expects to receive about $2 billion from Russia for joint import substitution projects, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday.

He said this while hosting an open lecture, which was broadcast live in all schools and universities of the country.

"[As for our] joint import substitution projects. Now Russia is allocating us about $2 billion for these joint projects," he said.

On the whole, Lukashenko said, in the near future Belarus and Russia will have "countless projects" in all areas.