World Leaders Snub Putin at G20, Exile Him to ‘Social Siberia’

Russian President Vladimir Putin was reportedly set to walk out of the G20 summit in Australia a day early after drawing a series of rebukes over Ukraine and threats of further sanctions from Western leaders, but a Kremlin spokesman now says Putin plans to stay.

A member of Putin’s delegation told Reuters that Putin was planning to cut out on a working session Sunday during the second half of the two-day world leaders forum because he had business to attend to in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later denied reports of Putin’s early exit. “This is wrong,” Peskov said. “The president is taking part in all the (G20) events.”

Putin has received a cool welcome since arriving in Brisbane over the weekend, receiving terse words from fellow delegates, including President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

During a speech at Queensland University ahead of the summit, Obama blasted Russia’s involvement in escalating the conflict in Ukraine, which has so far killed over 4,000 people, calling it a “threat to the world.”

Continued at https://news.vice.com/article/world-leaders-snub-putin-at-g20-exile-him-to-social-siberia