BEIJING, November 11 (Sputnik) – There were no “harsh words” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
Abbott earlier promised to have harsh discussions with Putin during the upcoming G20 meeting in Brisbane over the Malaysian passenger jet that was downed over eastern Ukraine in July, threatening to “shirtfront” Putin, a term in Australian football when one player knocks another down in order to get control of the ball.
“It looks like there was no attempt,” Peskov responded in regard to a question of whether Abbott had “shirtfronted” Putin during the summit.
Putin, Australia's Abbott Call for Speedier Investigation Into Downed Malaysian Boeing
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott have called for investigations into the Malaysian passenger jet downed in eastern Ukraine in July to be sped up, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
"Both Abbott and Putin expressed the need for an actual investigation into the reasons of the catastrophe and for speeding up the investigation," Peskov said, commenting the talks between the two leaders in Beijing during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed near Donetsk on July 17. All 298 people on board, including 283 passengers and 15 crew members, died in the crash.
According to a preliminary report issued by the Dutch Safety Board early in September, the plane most likely broke up in mid-air as a result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from the outside.
Putin to Visit India by Year's End: Putin's Spokesman
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India by the end of 2014, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
"Naturally, there will be a visit to India before the end of the year," Peskov said.
Putin's visit will be his first trip to India since the new Indian Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was formed in May.
Modi said earlier that his country attached high importance to its relations with Russia, adding that Russia president's visit will bring bilateral relations to a new level, according to the Times of India newspaper.
The Russian president has not paid any visits to India in 2014. The most recent visit by a high-ranking Russian official to the country happened last week, with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin co-chairing an Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation meeting. Rogozin also visited Delhi in June to forge ties with the new Indian government.
Russia has long remained India's leading partner in many fields.
Last Wednesday, during the India-Russia Forum on trade and investments, Indian Commerce and Trade Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Russia-Indian relations were below the level they could potentially reach and expressed hope for the revival of intense economic cooperation between the countries.
