Moscow( CNN) Russian President Vladimir Putin set the tone for debate at the G2 0 meeting in Osakaduring a sit-down interview with the Financial Times by making a provocative point: Western liberalism, he said, had run its course.
Putin, it seemed, was channeling US President Donald Trump's former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon as he expounded on the surge in populist motions in Europe and the unexpected rise of Trump, whom he satisfied on the sidelines of the summit Friday.
“What is happening in the West? ” he said. “What is the reason for the Trump phenomenon, as you said, in the US? What is happening in Europe as well? The ruling elites have transgressed away from the people. The obvious problem is the gap between the interests of the elites and the overwhelming majority of the people.”
