Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted economic protectionism and sanctions in an implicit gesture at President Trump a day before the two leaders are set to meet for the first time.

Published in the German financial newspaper Handelblatt ahead of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Putin praised the strategy for free trade and action on climate change, while warning against the “protectionism is becoming the norm.”

“The old economic models have all but exhausted their possibilities,” Putin wrote. “Protectionism is becoming the norm, while unilateral, politically motivated restrictions on trade and investment, as well as technology transfer, are nothing but masked protectionism” – Putin said.