Door open for Putin at G20 summit in Brisbane

VLADIMIR Putin will be invited to the G20 summit in Brisbane despite Australia’s strong criticism of Russia’s support for separatist rebels in Ukraine.

Joe Hockey chairs the opening of the G20 finance summit in Cairns today. Picture: Brian Cassey

VLADIMIR Putin will be invited to the G20 summit in Brisbane later this year despite Australia’s strong criticism of Russia’s support for separatist rebels in Ukraine suspected of downing flight MH17.

Australia had consulted other G20 countries on the question but the world’s biggest economies have decided to engage with the Russian President rather than turn him away.

Revealing the consensus position of the member nations, Joe Hockey said he expected a Russian delegation at the leaders’ summit in November in the same way the country had sent a group to the G20 finance meeting in Cairns this weekend.

The Treasurer’s message comes despite continuing criticism of Mr Putin for his support for separatists who have been blamed for shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine earlier this year, killing 298 passengers and crew including 38 Australians.

At the UN Security Council overnight Foreign Minister Julie Bishop again took aim at Russia, blaming it for arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and making the Malaysia Airlines crash site unsafe for investigators and monitors.

The Australian has been told that many G20 members have sent messages to Tony Abbott and Mr Hockey that it would be better to continue the engagement with Russia over the fighting in the Ukraine rather than isolate the country.

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While Mr Putin remains invited to the Brisbane summit, he may choose not to attend and may instead send his Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev.

Russia has sent its deputy finance minister to the Cairns meeting this weekend, which involves finance ministers and central bank governors from all member countries.

Mr Hockey said the G20 was an economic forum and that decisions had to be made by consensus, which meant Australia as this year’s president and host nation could not make a decision alone on who could attend.

“If one party is to be excluded for various reasons then it requires the agreement of all the parties to the G20,” he said at a media conference in Cairns today.

“We’ve consulted with a number of countries and the emphatic view came back that of course we expect Russia to attend the G20. They are a member of the G20 and we expect that they will attend the G20 meetings. There is a Russian delegation here today and Russia has participated.

“Now, it is an economic forum, there is no unilateral decision that can be made by Australia in relation to attendance.

“It is also important, as a number of other countries said to us, that the door always remain open for communication in order to address some of the geopolitical tensions involving Russia.

“So there was a view that the door should always remain open to keep the dialogue going because ultimately that would be the best way to alleviate some of the geopolitical challenges that are faced by many countries as a result of Russia’s actions and others’ actions over the last few months.”

Some of those attending the meeting have made pointed remarks about Russia.

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew mentioned “Russia’s illegal actions to undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine” as one of the global challenges facing the G20, during his prepared remarks to the media yesterday upon his arrival in Cairns.

European members of the G20, however, have been worried about antagonising Europe over the issue and arguing that it would be better to negotiate with Mr Putin rather than turn him away from the event.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko was invited to Washington DC to address the US Congress yesterday, seeking military assistance for this country.