Reuters, Australia :
Western leaders attending a G20 summit blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday for the crisis in Ukraine, threatening further sanctions if Russia did not withdraw troops and weapons from its neighboring nation.
US President Barack Obama said Russian aggression against Ukraine was a threat to the world, while the European Council demanded Moscow put pressure on rebels there to accept a ceasefire.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit in Brisbane, Obama placed security and climate change at the center stage of the leaders meeting, overshadowing talks on how to lift flagging global economic growth.
Obama said the United States was at the forefront of “opposing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world, as we saw in the appalling shoot-down of MH17”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union was considering further financial sanctions against Russian individuals because of the crisis in Ukraine.
“The present situation is not satisfying,” Merkel told reporters at the summit. “At present the listing of further persons is on the agenda.”
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, also at the G20 summit, said Europe’s foreign ministers will meet on Monday to assess the situation in Ukraine and whether further steps including additional sanctions were needed against Russia.
Putin’s isolation at the G20 summit was evident with his placing on the outer edge for the formal leaders photograph. While Obama and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping were met by Australia’s governor general and attorney general when they arrived in Brisbane, Putin was met by the assistant defense minister.
Despite being under intense pressure, Putin was all smiles, shaking hands with host Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who had threatened to “shirt front”, or physically confront, him over the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 over Ukraine, in which 28 Australians died.
A Kremlin spokesman said the Ukraine crisis was the only topic discussed at a one-on-one meeting between Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron, but he added both expressed interest in “ending confrontation” and rebuilding relations. Putin also met French President Francois Hollande, and both agreed to protect their ties from the effects of sanctions, the spokesman said.
Outside the summit, Ukrainian Australians staged an anti-Putin protest, wearing headbands reading “Putin, Killer”.
Draped with the flags of the nations that lost citizens when the flight MH17 was shot down, the demonstrators lay on a large Ukrainian flag, in what they said was a protest at the “murderous acts” Russia’s president was responsible for.
Russia denied it was involved in a recent escalation of military activity in Ukraine and said it supported the implementation of the ceasefire agreed in Minsk in September. “We are not involved,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, adding that leaders from Brazil, India, China and South Africa, fellow members of the BRICS group of nations, had offered their support.
Western leaders attending a G20 summit blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday for the crisis in Ukraine, threatening further sanctions if Russia did not withdraw troops and weapons from its neighboring nation.
US President Barack Obama said Russian aggression against Ukraine was a threat to the world, while the European Council demanded Moscow put pressure on rebels there to accept a ceasefire.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit in Brisbane, Obama placed security and climate change at the center stage of the leaders meeting, overshadowing talks on how to lift flagging global economic growth.
Obama said the United States was at the forefront of “opposing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world, as we saw in the appalling shoot-down of MH17”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union was considering further financial sanctions against Russian individuals because of the crisis in Ukraine.
“The present situation is not satisfying,” Merkel told reporters at the summit. “At present the listing of further persons is on the agenda.”
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, also at the G20 summit, said Europe’s foreign ministers will meet on Monday to assess the situation in Ukraine and whether further steps including additional sanctions were needed against Russia.
Putin’s isolation at the G20 summit was evident with his placing on the outer edge for the formal leaders photograph. While Obama and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping were met by Australia’s governor general and attorney general when they arrived in Brisbane, Putin was met by the assistant defense minister.
Despite being under intense pressure, Putin was all smiles, shaking hands with host Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who had threatened to “shirt front”, or physically confront, him over the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 over Ukraine, in which 28 Australians died.
A Kremlin spokesman said the Ukraine crisis was the only topic discussed at a one-on-one meeting between Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron, but he added both expressed interest in “ending confrontation” and rebuilding relations. Putin also met French President Francois Hollande, and both agreed to protect their ties from the effects of sanctions, the spokesman said.
Outside the summit, Ukrainian Australians staged an anti-Putin protest, wearing headbands reading “Putin, Killer”.
Draped with the flags of the nations that lost citizens when the flight MH17 was shot down, the demonstrators lay on a large Ukrainian flag, in what they said was a protest at the “murderous acts” Russia’s president was responsible for.
Russia denied it was involved in a recent escalation of military activity in Ukraine and said it supported the implementation of the ceasefire agreed in Minsk in September. “We are not involved,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, adding that leaders from Brazil, India, China and South Africa, fellow members of the BRICS group of nations, had offered their support.
