The Ukrainian crisis seems to have caused a crisis in the G20 summit in Australia, since the issue was a friction point in many, if not all, bilateral contacts with Vladimir Putin.

Such was the pressure from leaders like Barack Obama and Canadian PM Stephen Harper who circulated rumors that the Russian president was planning not to attend a working group on Sunday, within the framework of the meeting of the top 20 developed and developing countries in Brisbane, speeding his departure.

Shortly afterwards, however, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov  denied that Putin will leave. He accepted, however, that the issue of sanctions against Russia was the subject of a “broad and lively” debate, without “any pressure”, however.

The announced was preceded by Angela Merkel’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in a hotel, which lasted for over an hour, much longer than the plan. This meeting involved EU president Jean-Claude Juncker.