Russia struggles to balance between Israel and Iran

AS MISSILES rolled across Red Square during Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9th, Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, stood squarely beside President Vladimir Putin. He had come to secure Russian support for containing Iran in Syria. Pinned to his lapel was the orange and black St George’s ribbon, a symbol of the second world war that has become synonymous with Russian revanchism in Ukraine. The overtures appear to have worked: as The Economist went to press, Russia and Israel were finalising an agreement that would attempt to keep Iranian forces some 15 miles (24km) away from the Israeli border in Syria.