Putin leaves G20 earlier than others, to 'get some sleep'

Russian President Vladimir Putin left the G20 summit in Brisbane earlier than other world leaders. The Russian president gave a final G20 press conference on Sunday morning, when the rest of the guests gathered for breakfast. Putin said prior to his departure that the summit was held in "a friendly and businesslike" atmosphere.

At the press conference, Vladimir Putin explained his decision to leave Brisbane prior to the announcement of the final communiqué with his busy work schedule and the need to get some sleep.

"To avoid speculation here of why I did not go for breakfast - the Minister of Finance (Anton Siluanov - ed.) is staying here. He will report on our efforts about the struggle against Ebola," said Putin.

"We are flying from here to Vladivostok for nine hours, and then from Vladivostok to Moscow for another nine hours. Then I need to get home and go to work on Monday. At least four or five hours of sleep would be necessary," the Russian president told reporters.

"I approached Tony (Tony Abbott, the Australian Prime Minister - ed.). He reacted with understanding, so there are no other reasons," said Putin. The Russian president said that he had time to communicate with some of the colleagues, Interfax reports.

Describing his impressions of the summit, Putin said that "the hosts of the summit created a favorable, friendly and businesslike atmosphere. I believe that the work took place in a constructive environment."

News agencies reported that Putin faced a storm of criticism in connection with the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. However, at the press conference, he said that the questions related to Ukraine were not discussed at official meetings. The crisis was discussed at bilateral meetings, during which "the parties managed to understand each other," he said.

On Saturday, Russian President met with one of the main critics of Russian-led policy in Ukraine - British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"Discussions were very frank, meaningful, and, in my opinion, useful, - Vladimir Putin said during his press conference. - I think we were able to better understand each other with our colleagues, to understand the motives of Russia's actions, and to they conveyed their concerns to me. I think it will help us."

"The situation, in general, in my opinion, has good prospects for regulation, no matter how strange it may seem," said the Russian leader.

Putin did not explain how he saw such opportunities exactly. "We would like, of course, with our Ukrainian partners - without Ukraine it is impossible to decide - to do this as soon as possible. In any case, Russia will be striving for this."

Putin also commented on Poroshenko's recent decree about the "economic blockade" of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. "I think this is a big mistake, because they are cutting off these regions with their own hand," Putin said.