In one case, McMaster recalls sidelining Netanyahu about his close relationship with Putin at the Munich Security Conference in 2018, where he voiced frustration at Netanyahu over his “hedging approach” to Russia.

“Prime Minister, you know that Putin is using a bait and switch – baiting you with the promise to curtail Iran’s presence and influence in Syria while actually enabling Iran’s proxies on your borders,” McMaster said he told Netanyahu, who sat next to him to confer about a speech he would give mentioning Hezbollah.

“Netanyahu smiled and said he had better return to his seat,” McMaster wrote.