Netanyahu’s secret two-hour visit to Russia could be related to either of two things. One is the Arctic Sea affair. The fact that the Russians sent so many ships and submarines to intercept the hijacked ship suggests that they are incredibly angry over the incident, and Netanyahu’s trip could be an attempt at damage control.
No less plausibe is the possibility that Israel is gearing up for an attack on Iran. The Obama administration spurned Iran’s negotiation offer, demanding that any talks be specifically on the subject of nukes. Since Iran is unlikely to agree to so direct an agenda, Obama seems to be constructing a casus belli. In that case, Netanyahu would act as an intermediary, correlating American and Russian positions on Iran, allowing both superpowers to keep their hands clean of the attack.
Netanyahu cannot allow himself to go down in history as the Israeli PM who stood idle while Iran acquired nuclear weapons. The question now is whether the US would strike North Korea simultaneously.
Seems to me that Likud went with the wrong man.