SOCHI, October 5. /TASS/. The influence of Western countries across the globe is a huge military and financial pyramid continuously requiring fuel, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club.

"The history of the West is essentially a chronicle of the endless expansion," the Russian leader said. "It needs new fuel all the time to maintain itself: environmental, technological, human resources belonging to others," Putin noted.

The Bretton Woods system requires to be replaced and the US authorities "shoot themselves in the foot" when limiting settlements in dollars, the Russian leader added.