Putin told to solve Ukraine crisis before Brisbane summit

VLADIMIR Putin is being urged to end Russia’s interference in Ukraine before he joins world leaders at the G20 summit.

VLADIMIR Putin is being urged to end Russia’s interference in Ukraine before he joins the world’s most powerful leaders at the G20 summit in Brisbane in November, as the US sharpens its message about the dispute.

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said there was a “united” position within the G20 on the need for a diplomatic settlement as he rebuked Russia’s President over the conflict in the eastern Ukraine.

Hinting at further sanctions against Russia, Mr Lew said his conversations at the G20 finance summit in Cairns showed that the world’s biggest economies were “quite united” in taking action against Russia if Mr Putin did not seek a diplomatic resolution.

The sharp language was in line with Tony Abbott’s criticism of Russia for inflaming the conflict.

Joe Hockey confirmed at the weekend that Australia could not make a unilateral decision to ban Mr Putin from the Brisbane leaders summit, saying a decision had to be made by consensus among G20 members.

Mr Lew concurred with that but said that if Mr Putin attended the leaders summit in November he would hear direct criticism of the Russian threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Mr Lew said the question of who attended the summit was a matter for the G20 group as a whole, but that the goal was to resolve the dispute over Ukraine by the time leaders met in Brisbane in November.

The Australian has been told that many G20 members have sent messages to the Prime Minister and Treasurer that it would be better to continue engaging with Russia on the fighting in Ukraine rather than isolate the country.

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