Russia dismisses Aussie PM remarks

Russia has dismissed remarks by the Australian premier that he would “shirtfront” the Russian president over the Malaysian airline crash in eastern Ukraine.

On Monday, the Aussie premier told journalists that he will “shirtfront” Putin – an illegal football technique aimed at knocking the rival backward to the ground – when the Russian president visits Brisbane, Australia, during the G20 summit next month.

“Look, I’m going to shirt-front Mr Putin…. You bet I am. I am going to be saying to Mr. Putin, Australians were murdered. They were murdered by Russian-backed rebels using Russian-supplied equipment,” Abbott said.

Meanwhile, third secretary of the Russian embassy in Canberra, Aleksandr Odoevsky, described Australian prime minister’s intention to “shirtfront” Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit as “tough talk and immature.,”

The Russian diplomat added that there has been no request for a bilateral meeting between the leaders, and Moscow was not expecting a physical confrontation.

“Hopefully there’s no fight. Well, definitely we admire the Australian prime minister. He’s very fit, but the Russian president…he’s a professional judo wrestler,” Odoevsky said.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine’s volatile Donetsk region while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 passengers, including 38 Australians, and crew on board.

The West and Russia are at loggerheads over the crisis in east Ukraine. Moscow has dismissed as “nonsense” claims that Russian Special Forces are fomenting unrest in Ukraine.

GMA/HMV/SS