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David Cameron was left furious at the G20 summit after Russia dismissed Britain as “a small island that nobody listens to”.

The extraordinary slur came at the meeting in St Petersburg which turned into a slanging match between world leaders over Syria gas attacks.

Russia’s remarks were clearly aimed at deflating the importance of the PM’s backing for America’s proposed air strikes against Basha al Assad.

Mr Cameron hit back and claimed he had fresh evidence of chemical weapons use.

But America was the major target of Russia’s anger.

US Secretary of State John Kerry was branded a liar who misled his own Congress to get a vote in favour of bombing Syria.

And, as leaders traded insults, the meeting of the top 20 world economic powers on Russia’s northern Baltic coast at times appeared to forget the victims of the Damascus gas attack which killed 1400, hundreds of them children.

(Image: Getty)

A spokesman for host President Vladimir Putin, Syria’s big ally, tried to dismiss the UK saying: “Britain is a small island – nobody pays any attention to them apart from the Russian oligarchs who have bought up Chelsea.”

It was unclear whether the insult was referring to Roman Abramovich buying Chelsea or wealthy Russians acquiring property in the exclusive part of London – or possibly both.

But Mr Cameron – facing claims he has been sidelined at the summit after Parliament voted against military action – said: “I don’t accept that for a moment.

"It’s right to make a stand on chemical weapons, it’s right to take that to Parliament, it’s right to respect Parliament.

“Britain will be leading the argument across the globe for continuing to respond strongly on chemical weapons.”

Mr Putin’s press secretary Dmitri Peskov denied he was the source of the comments.

Hopes of settling the chemical weapons breach politically looked slim after President Barack Obama and Mr Putin clashed bitterly.

The Russian President accused US Secretary of State John Kerry of “lying” about whether al-Qaeda was fighting with Syrian opposition forces.

Mr Putin said Kerry’s remarks in a recent congressional debate were “very unpleasant and surprising”.

He added: “We talk to them (the Americans) and we assume they are decent people, but he is lying and he knows that he is lying. This is sad.”

(Image: Reuters)

Mr Putin also scoffed at US claims they had evidence the Assad regime was responsible for the gas attack on August 21.

But a US State Department spokeswoman played down his attack saying: “Mr Kerry’s not losing sleep after such a preposterous comment based on an inaccurate quote.”

In a pre-summit gambit, the US had ramped up pressure for military action by warning that Assad’s regime had the ability to unleash biological as well as chemical weapons.

A senior American intelligence official said: “We are worried about sarin, but Syria also has biological weapons, and compared to those, sarin is nothing.”

Mr Cameron backed US chemical weapons claims saying clothes and soil from the Damascus attack assessed by the UK Porton Down military lab had tested positive for sarin.

And he said Britain would be presenting more evidence of chemical weapons use shortly.

(Image: PA)

He said: “My view is we have to look at chemical weapons as something different, something awful.

"Those pictures of children being gassed on our television screens are something the world must not turn away from.”

But China backed those opposing military intervention, warning it could badly affect the global economy.

And Iran accused President Obama of drumming up a “pretext” for air strikes pledging to support Damascus “until the end”.

The Pope also intervened sending a message urging world leaders to “lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution”.

Voice of the Mirror

With civilians continuing to suffer appalling bloodshed in Syria, the responsibility of world leaders gathered in St Petersburg for the G20 summit could not have been greater.

Which is why it is inexcusable that the Russians should have descended into petty slights against Britain.

Dismissing us as “a small country to which no-one pays attention” demeans them and their leader Vladimir Putin.

More importantly, such slurs do nothing to advance their case and make the possibility of a deal on Syria – which already looked unlikely – close to impossible.

David Cameron was very quick to point out that we are a country which punches above our weight.

He must now try to rise above a tit-for-tat retaliation and redouble his efforts to secure a diplomatic solution.

The world’s eyes are on St Petersburg and from what they have seen so far they must be appalled.