(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
A battle of words has broken out between Australia and Russia just weeks before the leaders of the two countries are scheduled to meet at the G20 meeting in Brisbane.
A Russian news outlet is accusing Australia of having a chip on its shoulder after Prime Minister Tony Abbott threatened to "shirt front" Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Abbott says he will confront the former KGB agent about the MH17 disaster over eastern Ukraine, where 38 Australian citizens and residents were among the 298 dead.
As Amanda Cavill reports, the federal government believes there is evidence pointing to Russian involvement in the July 17th downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Tony Abbott has already imposed trade bans on Russia and expressed his anger over Russia's support for the separatists believed to have shot down Flight MH17.
But despite talk of blocking Vladimir Putin's attendance at the G20 in November, Mr Putin has announced his intention to appear at the meeting.
Mr Abbott says the G20 is an international organisation which works on consensus and Australia does not have the right to bar any member from attending.
But he says he intends to confront Mr Putin over Russia's involvement in funding the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
"Look, I'm going to shirt front Mr Putin. You bet you are -- 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. We are very unhappy about this.'"
Mr Abbott's comments have sparked an angry response from the Russian online news site Pravda.
It has called him insolent.
"I would advise Russia's President Vladimir Putin to wash his hands carefully and sterilise them after shaking the paw offered to him by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the forthcoming G20 summit in Brisbane. It is not about Ebola virus disease. It is about the diseases called insolence and Australia's colonial chip on its shoulder.
Back in Australia, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Vladimir Putin is being arrogant by insisting he attend next month's meeting.
Mr Shorten says there is plenty of evidence pointing to Russian involvement in the July 17th downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight.
He says Mr Putin is not welcome, but he accepts the Government is not in a position to block his attendance.
"It's an international conference, not a conference run by Australia, so, if Putin has the arrogance to turn up to visit a nation whose nationals died in this plane crash, he can. But I'm like most Australians, I wish that Putin would at least show enough conscience to be able to not come to Australia because he's rubbing our faces in it. Also, what I happen to think is that, when you deal with international bullies, the way you do it isn't by laying out the red carpet. So no, I don't think he's welcome. I don't think most Australians want him here."
However, just what the tensions over Mr Putin's attendance at the G20 mean for the relationship between the two nations is unclear.
Former Australian ambassador to Russia Cavan Hogue says the Pravda article is a good indication of what Mr Putin thinks of the Australian prime minister.
Mr Hogue has told the ABC Australia's attitude towards Russia will change nothing.
"In a technical sense, he is not visiting Australia. He's attending a G20 meeting which happens to be here. So the talk about him visiting Australia really misses the point, because he's not, in any real, formal sense, visiting Australia. One way or the other, this is not going to have any effect on what Russia does or does not do."
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