Putin said in an interview with NTV TV that the president-elect will quickly grow to understand his new responsibilities, as Trump’s opponents and other world leaders wonder otherwise, based on the president-elect’s unconventional actions in the wake of the election.

“Trump was an entrepreneur and a businessman,” he said. “He is already a statesman, he is the head of the United States of America, one of the world’s leading countries. Because he achieved success in business, it suggests that he is a clever man. And if [he is] a clever man, then he will fully and quite quickly understand another level of responsibility. We assume that he will be acting from these positions.”

Putin, who last week said he hopes Trump will help to mend relations between Russia and the U.S., said attempts to create a unipolar world had failed.

“The situation is changing,” he said. “I think it is not a secret to anyone, everyone sees it, that many of our partners already prefer to stick to principles of international law, because the world’s balance is being gradually restored.”