One of Vladimir Putin's closest friends believes Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States, and that Western leaders are no match for the Russian president.
Sergei Roldugin, a childhood friend of Putin's and godfather to his eldest daughter, made international headlines earlier this year after his name featured in the leaked Panama Papers as the owner of a sprawling network of offshore accounts.
Some Western media said the papers suggested Roldugin, 64, was looking after Putin's money.
Putin called such reports "a provocation" and said Roldugin, a famous cellist, had done nothing wrong and spent the money he earned from business on buying expensive musical instruments.
Speaking in the Kremlin on Thursday before Putin bestowed a state award on him, Roldugin said:
"I know who will win in America. You may check it later. Trump will win."
He went on to say that politicians changed their behaviour once they were in power.
"I can't say I feel euphoria about Trump winning because he said he was with Putin and Hillary (Clinton) hasn't said that. Putin has said he will work with either and he's right."
Trump, the Republican candidate, has been criticised by Clinton, his Democratic Party rival, for praising Putin as a strong leader and saying ties with Moscow should be improved at a time when Moscow and Washington are at odds over Syria and Ukraine.
The Kremlin has tried to take a neutral stance on the US election, saying it will respect the choice of the American people, though Kremlin-backed TV channels have tilted their coverage in favour of Trump, whom Putin called "very talented."
Roldugin said Putin was a more impressive leader than his various Western counterparts, listing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and US President Barack Obama as being guilty of not taking responsibility and of concealing the true nature of agreements they had struck.
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