Brisbane, Australia: Vladimir Putin jetted out of Australia Sunday after a testy G20 summit where he faced concerted Western fire over the Ukraine crisis, saying he left slightly early because he needed to get some sleep.
The Russian strongman, a judo black belt who prides himself on his stamina, left before the final communique from the weekend talks was issued, but attended the annual forum's wrap-up lunch and praised the "constructive" discussions.
Speaking at a news conference just before flying out of Brisbane, he thanked Tony Abbott for hosting the event, despite the Australian prime minister threatening to confront him over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in July.
Putin added in comments reported by the RIA Novosti news agency that the decision to leave Brisbane early had nothing to do with tensions over Ukraine.
Instead, he wanted to catch up on some sleep ahead of a full day's work back home on Monday.
"We need nine hours to fly from here to Vladivostok and another nine hours from Vladivostok to Moscow," he said.
"Then we need to get home and return to work on Monday. There's a need to sleep at least four to five hours."
The Russian strongman, a judo black belt who prides himself on his stamina, left before the final communique from the weekend talks was issued, but attended the annual forum's wrap-up lunch and praised the "constructive" discussions.
Speaking at a news conference just before flying out of Brisbane, he thanked Tony Abbott for hosting the event, despite the Australian prime minister threatening to confront him over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in July.
Instead, he wanted to catch up on some sleep ahead of a full day's work back home on Monday.
Advertisement
"Then we need to get home and return to work on Monday. There's a need to sleep at least four to five hours."
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Russia, Ukraine Exchange 95 Prisoners Of War Record Heat Temperatures In Ukraine After Russian Attacks On Power Plants 10 Years On, 298 Victims Of MH17 Disaster Still Await Justice Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms "Assassination Attempt Has Sealed The Election": Trump's Close Aide Biden Says Could Drop Election Bid If "Medical Condition" Emerged Russia Says It's Ready To Work With Any US Leader 3 People Die After Drowning In Lake In Telangana: Cops Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.