Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interactions with other world leaders is expected to be closely watched at the upcoming G20 summit in Australia Nov. 15-16, just as it was at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, meeting in Beijing. CCTV America’s Tom Barton reported the story from Moscow.

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Obama and Putin’s public interactions display little warmth these days. Their awkward contact at APEC will be quickly followed at the G20. The buildup to the meeting in Australia has been stormy, with rumors and suggestions that Russia either shouldn’t be allowed to go, or might not turn up.

“I say with sadness that there’s no purpose in being there,” said Alexey Fenenko, a researcher at the Institute of International Security Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot, whose country is hosting the G20 meeting, has pulled back from his talk of, shirt-fronting Putin, Australian slang for knocking someone to the ground. He did say he would have a robust conversation, about what he calls the murder of 38 Australian citizens on board flight MH17 which Western governments accuse pro-Russian militants of shooting down in July.