Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu holding a call to “discuss regional stability” in the Middle East is rather like a pair of arsonists congratulating each other on their commitment to fire safety. If this is Putin’s idea of ‘sovereignty’, it’s no surprise Russia’s map of alliances looks like a war crime flowchart. And Netanyahu, currently engaged in genocide in Gaza, who coordinated closely with Putin in Syria from 2015 onwards—mostly to ensure that Israeli jets could keep bombing Syrian territory in cosy harmonisation with their Russian peers nodded along, no doubt. After all, Netanyahu is also a great believer in sovereignty. In Syria, Russia and Israel coordinated closely, with Netanyahu visiting Moscow repeatedly, proudly boasting of his warm relationship with Putin during Israeli election campaigns.