One photo from the June 25 tripartite summit of national security advisers in Jerusalem is worth a thousand words. It shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with US national security adviser John Bolton and Israel national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat standing to Netanyahu's right and Russia’s National Security Council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, to Netanyahu's left. Netanyahu, with arms crossed, holds tight to Patrushev’s hand with his right hand and to Bolton’s hand with his left. With a particularly big smile across his face, the prime minister looks like the cat that swallowed the canary. Bolton’s smile is also one of satisfaction, while Ben-Shabbat looks like he can't believe he's actually there. Only Patrushev maintains a somewhat chilly, pensive countenance, like someone who finds himself at a party he would rather not be attending.
The tired old diplo-jargon that “the importance of the event is in its very existence” is particularly true as regards this historic summit. The big headline produced by the meeting was Patrushev’s dry statement that splashed cold water on the US-Israeli offensive against Iran mounted at Bolton’s instigation.