World leaders take Putin to task over

Ukraine at G20 in Australia

By Jethro Mullen, CNN
November 16, 2014 -- Updated 1653 GMT (0053 HKT)
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/16/politics/g20-summit-putin/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the G20 summit in Australia didn't
prove to be a very amicable occasion. Putin has found himself on the
receiving end of a series of sharp verbal jabs from some of his fellow world
leaders.

The reason? Russia's interference in Ukraine.

Tensions mount ahead of G20 summit
One of the bluntest rebukes came from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper. "I guess I'll shake your hand," Harper told Putin on Saturday,
according to aides of the Canadian leader. But he then quickly warned Putin,
"You need to get out of Ukraine."
Obama, Putin greet with long handshake
U.S. President Barack Obama also voiced criticism of Moscow, saying in a
speech that Russian aggression against Ukraine "is a threat to the world."
Russia flexes its air muscle
Amid the strong words, the Russian government denied reports that Putin was
going to leave the summit early.
Sweden: We demand respect for our border
He departed on Sunday toward the end of the summit. He attended the final
lunch, French news agency Agence France-Presse reported. Putin praised
discussions as "constructive," AFP said.

How hunt for foreign sub unfolded

Criticism over Crimea, MH17
The pressure on Putin continued Sunday, with Obama and the leaders of
Japan and Australia issuing a statement expressing opposition to "Russia's
purported annexation of Crimea and its actions to destabilize eastern
Ukraine."

Western countries and the Ukrainian government in Kiev accuse Moscow of

sending troops and military equipment into eastern Ukraine to help pro-
Russian separatists fighting against government forces. Russian officials have
persistently denied their military is involved.

The statement also called for the prosecution of those responsible for
downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine.
The MH17 disaster, in which a passenger jet carrying 298 people was shot
down over eastern Ukraine, is a particularly sensitive subject in Australia. The
country lost 38 of its citizens and residents in the crash.
Dutch say recovery of MH17 wreckage begins in eastern Ukraine

Cool reception
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had promised ahead of the G20

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summit to confront Putin over the disaster and demand that Russia "fully
cooperate with the criminal investigation" to find out who shot down the plane.

Putin's standing in Australia was made clear by his reception when he arrived
in the country Friday.

The Russian leader stepped off his flight from Moscow to be greeted by
Australia's deputy defense secretary, a junior minister in Abbott's cabinet.
Standing nearby was a much bigger political personage, Australian Attorney-
General George Brandis.
But Brandis made no attempt to greet Putin. Not long afterward, however,
Brandis was filmed enthusiastically welcoming German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
When Abbott and Putin met at the event, they shook hands, exchanged a few
words and smiled.

Abbott said Sunday that he has "some differences" with the Russian
government, but that he was happy to treat Putin "with respect and courtesy"
as a guest in Australia.

'Ice Cold War'

Meanwhile, the Saturday edition of a local newspaper, The Courier Mail,
displayed a giant front page graphic of a Russian bear, complete with fur hat,
matching up against a boxing kangaroo, above the headline "Ice Cold War."

Inside, splashed across two pages, was quote after quote from Abbott,
reportedly revealing details of his 20-minute conversation with Putin on the
sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic

Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Beijing earlier in the week.

Abbott said he told Putin that he should stop trying to "recreate the lost glories
of tsarism or the Soviet Union," and he accused Russia of stepping up its
aggression, which was part of a "regrettable pattern."

Adding an extra edge to the atmosphere, Moscow deployed four naval

warships near Australia in the lead-up to the G20 meetings, the semiofficial
Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. One of the ships, the Varyag,
was once named "Red Ukraine."
The news agency said it was not uncommon for Russian warships to
accompany the country's leaders on foreign trips.

Warnings from West

The Ukraine crisis has led to a broader souring of relations between Russia
and the West.

Tensions inched up between Moscow and Washington this week following

Russia's announcement Wednesday that it plans to send long-range bombers
on flights to the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. government says no present security concerns warrant such

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maneuvers.

British Prime Minister David Cameron warned Russia on Friday to change

course over Ukraine.

Otherwise, he said, "The relationship that Britain has with Russia, that the
European Union has with Russia, the relationship that I hope Australia has
with Russia, will be very different."
Putin and Cameron met face-to-face in Brisbane on Saturday, and the
Ukraine crisis "dominated the conversation," according to a statement from
the Kremlin.

"David Cameron expressed his views on the current state of affairs in the
southeast of Ukraine, while Vladimir Putin provided extensive clarifications,"
the Russian statement explained diplomatically.
Putin met with several other Western leaders, including Merkel and French
President Francois Hollande.

Obama said at a news conference Sunday that his interactions with Putin had
been "businesslike and blunt."
If Putin continues down the same path on Ukraine, Russia will continue to be
isolated, Obama said.
"It is not our preference to see Russia isolated the way it is," he said.

Putin blasts sanctions

The United States and European countries have imposed economic sanctions
on Russia over its involvement in Ukraine.
Putin criticized those measures in comments Thursday to the Russian news
agency TASS, saying they undermine "the whole system of international
economic relations."

"They run counter to the very principle of G20 activities, and not only the
activities of the G20 and its principles, they run counter to international law,
because sanctions may be introduced only through the United Nations and its
Security Council," Putin said.

The G20's job is actually to focus on financial and economic matters. Ukraine
is not officially on the agenda, but it has loomed large over the gathering,
overshadowing Australia's plans for the meetings.

Abbott tried to get the tough talk with Putin out of the way earlier in the week
at APEC, in an attempt to keep the G20 focused on economic growth, said
Michael Kofman, a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Australia "did not want the summit ruined by the Russia issue," Kofman told
CNN. "But quite the opposite happened."
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