Tony Abbott, Vladimir Putin set for APEC showdown in Beijing

TONY Abbott’s long-awaited showdown with Vladimir Putin over the MH17 disaster will take place today.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott with APEC Leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping for the family photo at the Water Cube in Beijing, China.

TONY Abbott’s long-awaited showdown with Vladimir Putin over the MH17 disaster will take place today, but it will be far from the public eye.

The Prime Minister is expected to have a brief one-on-one encounter with the Russian president on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing.

Mr Abbott made international headlines when he threatened to “shirt-front” Mr Putin over the Russian-backed separatist missile attack that killed 298 people, including 38 Australian citizens and residents, in Ukraine in July.

But he has since toned down his language.

Mr Abbott played down the meeting on Monday, calling it “by no means the biggest” item on his APEC agenda.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama says he’s talking with Tony Abbott about boosting Australian troops in Iraq.

It comes just days after the US president announced he was sending an extra 1500 US troops into the strife-torn nation. Mr Obama had a lengthy one-on-one meeting with Mr Abbott ahead of the APEC summit in Beijing on Monday.

He said he’s having conversations with Australia and other coalition partners about “supplementing” their effort.

AAP