Sergey Aleinik appointed new Belarusian foreign minister

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday appointed senior diplomat Sergey Aleinik as the country's new foreign minister, local media reported.

"Sergey Aleinik, who has been working in the Foreign Ministry as the first deputy (foreign) minister, has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus," the Belarusian state-run Belta news agency said.

Vladimir Makei, the previous foreign minister, died on Nov. 26 at the age of 64. The Belarusian authorities did not state the cause of death but local media reported that he died of a heart attack.