I thought it was also highly unusual for the British Ambassador to visit the ‘alternative summit’ at G8. That just ain’t diplomatic. Holding a NATO conference in Latvia was provocative too.

Whatever is going on here, it’s a team effort.

I tend more towards the view that Ukraine and Belarus should have look Westwards for economic development, rather than back Eastwards.

Yes, there are short term benefits to closer economic re-integration with Russia, but longer term, Russia has very little to offer in terms of trade with its neighbours. The focus of the Russian economy remains quite narrow – primarily on its larger scale exports.

If countries like Ukraine and Belarus want to build a strong, diverse and modern economy, they should be looking primarily towards links with the EU, the US and Asia.

(Which isn’t to say they shouldn’t look to also strengthen their current links with Russia, or to abandon them altogether).

Belarus is looking rather isolated too. Maybe today you read about the speech on the last day of the Finnish presidency of the EU. Belarus was described as ‘a scar on the face of Europe’.

For their mutual salvation, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia should have formed an economic block some time ago – as I believe Gorbachev advised.