Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny took part in a debate outside Russia for the first time at the annual Boris Nemtsov Forum in Poland on Wednesday.

The forum, named after the Russian opposition politician who was murdered in 2015, aims to facilitate discussions between Russia and the West. Curated by Nemtsov’s daughter, journalist Zhanna Nemtsova, this year’s forum coincided with what would have been Nemtsov’s 60th birthday.

Speaking with American political scientist Francis Fukuyama, Navalny discussed democracy, populism, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and strengthening ties between Russia and Europe.

Here’s a look at what was said:

On populism

Navalny, who has been described as a populist in the past, was keen to shake off the label. He said that he is “branded a populist” whenever he discusses broad issues such as inequality, migration or his fight against corruption.

“The word ‘populism’ is simply trendy now,” he said, saying that this can only be overcome by establishing trust between people and political institutions.

“There is no trust in Putin or the Russian state,” Navalny said. Pointing to last month’s regional elections, he said the opposition “participated in them without money, without access to the media… and still had a very strong showing.”