The prime minister says he will speak to G20 members about whether Vladimir Putin should attend November summit

Tony Abbott has condemned Russia over its “invasion” of Ukrainian territory, saying reports of troop movements indicate “an absolutely clear-cut case of a larger country bullying a smaller country”.



The Australian prime minister said he would speak to other members of the G20 in coming weeks about the “very important question” of whether the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, should be prevented from attending the leaders’ summit in Brisbane in November, a decision the Labor opposition would support.

The Ukrainian government in Kiev has accused Russia of sending forces across the border, a claim Moscow denies.

Nato said on Thursday it estimated there were more than 1,000 Russian soldiers fighting in eastern Ukraine, and released satellite images that the organisation said showed Russian armoured vehicles and artillery had been crossing into the country for at least a week.

Abbott joined other western leaders in condemning Russia’s actions.

“Clearly if, as seems to have been the case, Russian armed forces have simply moved across the border, that is an invasion and it is utterly reprehensible,” he said in Canberra on Friday.

“It is an absolutely clear-cut case of a larger country bullying a smaller country, and this should have no place in our world.

“You cannot have an international order if might is right. You cannot have a safe and secure world if powerful countries are able to take what they want. Plainly, what we have seen in Ukraine over the last six months or so is an increasingly aggressive role by Russia and it seems that Russia is now stepping out of the shadows and overtly trying to achieve its objects of domination in Ukraine and it is completely, absolutely and utterly unacceptable.”

Abbott noted that any decision to withdraw Putin’s invitation to attend the G20 meeting was not one for Australia alone.

“Because he would be coming for a critical international gathering, it’s not a decision which Australia really has a right to make unilaterally,” the prime minister said.

“Nevertheless, it is an important question and it’s one that I’ll be weighing and I suspect a number of other countries will be weighing in the weeks ahead.”

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said it was time for Abbott and the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, to speak to other nations about the appropriateness of Putin’s attendance.

Labor would support the government in taking “the strongest action possible”, including tougher sanctions, in response to “the significant escalation in aggression” by Russia.

He said Australians were “sickened beyond belief” at the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine by what was believed to be a Russian-made missile.

“Following the tragic events of MH17, the complete lack of remorse or responsibility, the lack of full cooperation in terms of MH17, and now scenes of thousands of Russian soldiers flooding across the Ukrainian border, I think most Australians have grave reservations about welcoming Mr Putin to Australia,” Shorten said.

“There is no doubt in my mind, that Russia has been involved in the conflict in Ukraine. There is no doubt in my mind that the world as a whole is aghast at the actions of the Russian government.”

Abbott has previously sharply criticised Russia over its “bullying” of Ukraine and its response to the downing of MH17.

Asked on Friday whether Australia had forensic evidence that Russia was involved in the shooting down of the passenger plane, Abbott said: “It’s almost indubitable that the weapon used to commit this atrocity was Russian-supplied. So, it was a weapon that was fired by Russian-backed rebels from what was effectively Russian-controlled territory … Obviously, Russia has a very heavy share of responsibility.”