BEIJING: Tony Abbott has confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the APEC leaders' summit in Beijing, holding him complicit in the downing of flight MH17 and calling for Russia to apologise and consider restitution.

The talks on Tuesday – originally billed as a serious confrontation over the MH17 atrocity – followed a few brief words on Monday evening.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the APEC leaders' summit in Beijing. Credit:AFP

Mr Abbott had famously promised to "shirtfront" the Russian strongman – known for his outdoor adventure-sports prowess – over Russian military involvement in the aircraft's downing.



During a sharp 15 minutes, Mr Abbott pointed out that when the US had inadvertently shot down an airliner, it had apologised and paid financial compensation.