Following Trump’s phone call on Friday evening with the Taiwan president, which led to scathing response by the US press and diplomatic corps, both of which were shocked to see Trump threaten the “One China” status quo by taking foreign policy matters into his own hands (the same media and diplomats who were just as shocked to see Trump win the presidential election) , on Sunday morning Trump got some words of encouragement from none other than Vladimir Putin, who in an interview with Russian NTV TV, said that Trump is “a clever man” and will quickly adapt to his new responsibilities and new role as president.

“Trump was an entrepreneur and a businessman. He is already a statesman, he is the head of the United States of America, one of the world’s leading countries.”

“The fact that Trump managed to achieve success in business, suggests that he is a smart man,” Putin said in the NTV interview.  “And as he is smart, that means he will fully and quite quickly be aware of a different level of responsibility. We assume that he will be acting this way,” he added.

Putin has spoken previously of his hope that Trump will help restore U.S.-Russia relations, and analysts said he was unlikely to want to dial up anti-Western rhetoric before Trump’s inauguration in January.

“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 said.

Putin’s comments seemed to address criticism from Trump’s opponents who say his unconventional actions since the election – including railing at the cast of a Broadway show and early-morning invective on Twitter – show Trump is out of his depth.

Discussing Russia’s poor relations with the West, Putin touched upon the current geopolitical situation, saying that he could see it changing, as attempts to establish a unipolar world have failed.

“I believe that it is not a secret, everyone can see, that many of our partners prefer to refer to the principles of the international law, because the balance of power in the world is gradually being restored,” he said. “But this is inevitable!

Finally, Putin said when building relationships with other countries, Russia would respect their interests: “Attempts to create a unipolar world have not succeeded. We are living in a different dimension. Russia has always held this point of view – that, while protecting our national interests, we must respect the interests of other countries. So, this is the way we establish relations with other countries.”