This is a humorous turn of events for several reasons. Firstly, when Uncle Luk knew Yeltsin could buy the farm because of his bum ticker, he was all for Belarus-Russian Federation intergration - saw it as a way for him to become the leader of both nations. Now he's not sure sure. Hmm.
Another humorous (and sad) moment is how incredibly short-sighted Putin and Co's foreign policy has become. They've done more for turning the near abroad united against them than any NATO expansion could ever dream of.
Very good point. Do they still whine about that (NATO expansion)?