Russian President Vladimir Putin has left the G20 summit in Brisbane early, before the release of the G20’s final communique. <br /><br />Putin said he was heading home because of the long flight from Australia, saying he wanted to get some sleep.<br /><br />He hailed a “constructive” atmosphere at the summit, despite coming under pressure over Ukraine.<br /><br />But he contradicted Western concerns over an escalation in the conflict, saying there was a good chance it could be resolved.<br /><br />The leaders of the United States, Australia and Japan though lined up together against Russia during a trilateral meeting.<br /><br />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”.<br /><br />Russia firmly denies accusations that it has sent troops into eastern Ukraine.<br /><br />The crisis there has overshadowed proceedings but apart from that and some cute photo opportunities with koalas, economic issues were big in Brisbane.<br /><br />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.
