Putin heads home early from G20 but hails 'constructive' summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has left the G20 summit in Brisbane early, before the release of the G20’s final communique.

Putin said he was heading home because of the long flight from Australia, saying he wanted to get some sleep.

He hailed a “constructive” atmosphere at the summit, despite coming under pressure over Ukraine.

But he contradicted Western concerns over an escalation in the conflict, saying there was a good chance it could be resolved.

The leaders of the United States, Australia and Japan though lined up together against Russia during a trilateral meeting.

Barack Obama, host Tony Abbot and Shinzo Abe said they would oppose “Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea and its actions to destabilize eastern Ukraine”.

Russia firmly denies accusations that it has sent troops into eastern Ukraine.

The crisis there has overshadowed proceedings but apart from that and some cute photo opportunities with koalas, economic issues were big in Brisbane.

The final communique includes measures to boost economies by over two per cent over five years, a crackdown on tax dodging and corruption, and what it calls support for “strong and effective action to address climate change”, despite Australian attempts to keep the issue off the agenda.