Russian President Vladimir Putin has been given a blunt warning that tougher sanctions could be imposed on Russia if he continues to arm separatists in Ukraine.
As the sanctions imposed on Russia over its aggression in the former Soviet satellite state continue to bite, Mr Putin left the G20 leaders' summit in Brisbane before Prime Minister Tony Abbott delivered the conference's final communique.
Sunday's early departure came over a weekend of open hostility towards the Russian president over the Ukraine, with European countries, the US, Australia and Japan all condemning the aggression, amid signs of fresh escalation in the conflict.
Before he left for Moscow, Mr Putin in a report carried by the Russian news agency Tass, said the G20 had come to "a common understanding that sanctions damaged everybody and that it was necessary to get out of this situation".
"I think we were able to get to a point where we understand each other better," he said earlier.
But Russia could yet face further economic isolation, with US President Barack Obama on Sunday evening warning sanctions would be ramped up if Mr Putin continued "violating international law, providing heavy arms to the separatists in Ukraine".
"At this point the sanctions we have in place are biting plenty good. We retain the capability and we have our teams constantly looking at mechanisms in which to turn up additional pressure as necessary," Mr Obama said.
While Ukraine wasn't mentioned during the official sessions of the summit, it did dominate bilateral discussions between Mr Putin and other leaders.
Mr Abbott, after delivering the communique, said the G20 had provided an opportunity for him to speak candidly with Mr Putin, particularly over the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the downing of flight MH17.
Thirty-eight Australians were among the 298 killed when the plane was shot down in July.
"I don't particularly approve, in fact I utterly deplore, what seems to be happening in eastern Ukraine," Mr Abbott said.
"I demand that Russia fully co-operate with the investigation, the criminal investigation of the downing of MH17 - one of the most terrible atrocities of recent times."
Mr Putin earlier said he wanted to work together with Ukraine "as soon as possible" on resolving difficulties, and could see "some promising trends right now", which gave him hope of making progress.
The comments came after Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko issued decrees overnight to withdraw state services in pro-Russian regions and also asked the country's central bank to shut down all bank services in the region.
Mr Putin in turn accused Kiev of imposing an "economic blockade" on the breakaway Russian-speaking regions of Lugansk and Donetsk.
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