Nov 18, 2009

Breaking up with Belarus, Awkward Call to WTO


As if waking up to discover that Belarus isn’t nearly as hot as he remembered from the club, Putin has changed its mind for the third time in six months on WTO membership.

Back in June, Russia formally abandoned its bid to join the WTO, opting instead to join as a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan. Immediately afterwards, Belarus and Russia launched a bitter trade war over milk imports. This marked the first time in living memory (human history?) that two members of a prospective trade union would use such an agreement to launch a trade war -- with each other.

Sadly, the hilarity could not last. Putin has again reversed course and informed the WTO that:

1) Belarus didn’t mean anything to him;
2) “Kazakhstan is just a friend, honest!”
3) He’s really matured in their time apart;
4) He really, really wants to get back together…

…for real this time.

(Who said international trade policy was dull?)

4 comments:

Ern said...

wow that list made me sad

Pirates(and)Diplomats said...

We've all had that call.

Mrta said...

I want to know what Lukashenka has that keeps Putin crawling back for more. Probably the same skills that kept him (artifically) high on the hot heads of state list.

What is Lukashenka's secret weapon?

Pirates(and)Diplomats said...

I hear he wears a cologne called "Sex Panther."

Might have something to do with it.