The importance of Putin's statement is not only in its correctness but also in its repudiation of the policies of the liberal Russian Atlanticist Integrationists.  The Atlanticist Integrationists, a collection of liberal Russians allied with Western interests who seek to subordinate Russian national interests to their global economic interests, have been tolerated in Russia for too long.  Putin should have jettisoned them long before now.  The policies of Atlanticist Integrationists have damaged the Russian economy by sacrificing Russian sovereignty to global interests.  They also support the introduction into Russia of the degeneracy that is characteristic of Western art and culture today.   https://russia-insider.com/en/christianity/russian-christians-interupt-play-glorifying-sodomy-urge-audience-leave-many-do/ri27310   See also: https://russia-insider.com/en/violence-erupts-west-turns-its-sexual-subversion-weapon-georgia/ri27312 

Putin's rejection of liberalism implies a rejection of the Atlanticist Integrationists.  Once the dangerous  ideas of these American imitators are cleansed from the Russian government, Russia's rise will be even more rapid.