The Russian president said he would have warned himself against trusting the West
Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted that he should not have put so much trust in Washington and its allies during his first presidential terms, calling doing so “naive.” He should have placed his trust squarely in the Russian people, he told a major press conference on Thursday.
Asked by a journalist what he would have advised his younger self from more than 20 years ago, Putin said that he would first have cautioned himself against “excessive gullibility” in relations with “our so-called partners” – a term he has repeatedly used when describing the collective West.
The president said that one “must believe in the great Russian people, for this belief is a basis for success in Russia’s renewal… and development.”
Putin also gave a positive assessment of his political trajectory from 20 years ago, saying that he would have generally told his…