WASHINGTON, June 8. /TASS/. Politicians like US senator John McCain fail to grasp the rapidly changing world and see no real threats of modern times, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a fragment of Oliver Stone’s documentary, released by the Showtime TV channel on Thursday.

"People with such convictions like the senator you mentioned, they still live in the Old World," Putin said in a short excerpt, posted on Showtime’s YouTube channel. "And they are reluctant to look into the future, they are unwilling to recognize how fast the world is changing."

"They do not see the real threat, and they cannot leave behind the past which is always dragging them back," the Russian leader added.

Commenting on anti-Russian rhetoric by the 80-year-old senator, Putin recalled Ancient Roman senator Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, who always finished all his speeches using the same words, "Carthage must be destroyed."

"Well, honestly, I like senator McCain to a certain extent. And I’m not joking. I like him because of his patriotism, and I can relate to his consistency in fighting for the interests of his own country," he said.

The four-part documentary, The Putin Interviews, will be aired in the United States on four consecutive nights between June 12 and 15. In Russia, it will be aired by Channel One, which has already purchased broadcasting rights.