Russia, 4-ex-Soviet nations finalize new alliance

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

http://news.yahoo.com/russia-4-ex-soviet-nations-finalize-alliance-144828097--finance.html

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

But Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko cracked the ceremonial veneer of the meeting by launching a harsh attack on Moscow for damaging Belarus' economic interests with moves to restrict its exports to Russia.

Belarus, sandwiched between Russia and European Union members Poland and Lithuania, has profited handsomely from Moscow's ban on imports of EU food in retaliation to Western sanctions against Russia by boosting imports of food from the EU nations and reselling it to Russia.

The Russian authorities have retaliated by halting imports of Belarus' own milk and meat, citing alleged sanitary reasons, and banning transit of Belarusian food bound for Kazakhstan through its territory on suspicion that much of it ended up in Russia.

"In violation of all international norms, we have faced a ban on transit," Lukashenko said. "It was done in a unilateral way and without any consultations."

Good Luck with all that. The small neighbors will soon enough tire of being Moscow's bitches - in fact, one of them apparently already has before the alliance even goes into effect.