Vladmir Putin is “unlikely” to meet Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott, said the Kremlin, after Abbott vowed to confront the Russian president over the downing of flight MH17 in Eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin's remarks come as Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that politicians should “choose their words”, after Abbott said he would “shirt-front” Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in Brisbane.
“Shirt-front” is an Australian Rules football term to aggressively knock an opponent to the floor.
“If he likes to use sports terms, let him go ahead”, said Medvedev. “Mr Putin is quite adept at sports and they could have forceful debates. That said, serious politicians should choose their words.”
The Russian president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said “the Russian government does not intend to respond to Mr Abbott’s colourful language.”
He went on to add,
The Kremlin's remarks come as Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that politicians should “choose their words”, after Abbott said he would “shirt-front” Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in Brisbane.
“Shirt-front” is an Australian Rules football term to aggressively knock an opponent to the floor.
“If he likes to use sports terms, let him go ahead”, said Medvedev. “Mr Putin is quite adept at sports and they could have forceful debates. That said, serious politicians should choose their words.”
The Russian president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said “the Russian government does not intend to respond to Mr Abbott’s colourful language.”
He went on to add,
“Mr Putin is unlikely to seek bilateral talks with Mr Abbott. Mr Putin’s office will be waiting for more diplomatic and pleasant occasion to get in touch with Mr Abbott’s office.