G20 not the forum to punish Russia over Ukraine, leaders agree

RUSSIA appears set to escape any action by the Group of 20 club of major economies to punish it over its incursions into Ukraine.

Tony Abbott and Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper talk at a press conference in Ottawa.

RUSSIA appears set to escape any action by the Group of 20 club of major economies to punish it over its incursions into Ukraine, as leaders say it is not the forum to do so.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper backed his Australian counterpart to caution against the idea that Vladimir Putin could be barred from this year’s G20 summit in Brisbane over Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Adopting the same position Tony Abbott has taken in recent days, Mr Harper said the G20 was not the forum for action because its focus was on economic affairs, not international security.

The G7 group of nations barred Mr Putin from its recent summit in Brussels to send a united message condemning the Russian interference in southern and eastern Ukraine. The G7 includes the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada.

Mr Harper has savaged Mr Putin as an “imperialist” and “extreme nationalist” but says the G20 is not the forum to act on the matter.

“I think we all recognise, whether it is desirable or not, there is not going to be any inclination, certainly no unanimity around, expelling Russia from the G20,” Mr Harper said at a press conference with Mr Abbott in Ottawa.

“The G20, unlike the G7, is not a forum of like-minded nations committed to democracy, development and a more peaceful world.

“The G20 is simply all of the major economies on the planet who get together to obviously discuss how we keep the global economy on track, particular out of the great recession of 2008 and 2009. Russia is obviously present for that reason because it is a major economy. I will modulate my own interaction with its government accordingly.”

Mr Abbott said he hoped Russia would change its behaviour before the G20 summit in Brisbane in November.

“Plainly Russia has behaved badly, very badly indeed, over the Ukraine,” he told the press conference in Parliament House in Ottawa.

“But the G20 is still some five months away. Let’s hope Russia behaves better in the intervening period.

“Yes, the G20 is essentially an economic gathering. It’s a gathering which is designed to ensure over time more effective financial governance. It would be a pity not to have all of the significant economies there.

“But as Prime Minister Harper has just pointed out, it’s not a gathering of nations which are like-minded on questions of alliance, on matters of democracy and the treatment of human rights and the rule of law. It’s not like that at all.”

Mr Abbott went on to talk of the importance of the G20 in focusing on economic issues.

“The challenge that I have, the challenge that Joe Hockey has, is trying to find the things that do united us rather than dwell on the things that might divide us — to find the things that do unite us and to build a better world based on those principles.”