Belarusian-Russian union theoretically possible, says Peskov

The political unification of Russia and Belarus is
theoretically possible, but will not happen in the near term, the spokesman for
Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dmitri Peskov, said on Sept. 12. Currently,
28 projects regarding economic reform are in progress, pravda.com.ua reported
on the same day, citing tass.ru. Peskov was speaking on Belarusian television,
and the statements come after comments on Sept. 10 by Peskov in which he said
that making the Russian ruble the common currency of the two countries is
currently not under discussion.

James Hydzik: The tightening
integration of the Russian and Belarusian economies will have effects on
Ukraine’s exports. Belarus acts as a destination for Ukrainian exports headed
to Russia, and vice-versa as well, but there is trade between Ukraine and
Belarus that would become even more exposed to Russian competition.

Furthermore, with Ukraine integrating into the EU and
Belarus into Russia, polarization in the region is increasing, thus increasing
political risk. This in turn will create higher volatility and uncertainty
during events such as the Spring 2021 movement of Russian military hardware and
personnel to the Ukrainian border – events which, given the concurrent
strengthening of already close military ties, now are more likely to include a
significant Belarusian component.