Anthony Albanese has joined "most" world leaders attending the G20 Leaders' Summit in "strongly" condemning the war in Ukraine, the human suffering it has caused and its significant consequences for the global economy.
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Without mentioning Russia by name, the condemnation came in the joint communique at the close of the two-day summit, but it also mentioned "there were other views" as well.
It comes as Mr Albanese closed out the summit with a series of one-on-one meetings with leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, and also personally slammed Russian aggression as "reckless and dangerous" after a missile attack killed two people in a Polish village near the border with Ukraine.
Circumstances surrounding the blast, which came as Moscow launched a ferocious bombardment on western Ukraine, are still emerging, but earlier on Wednesday US President Joe Biden said the missile, which exploded in the Polish town of Przewodow, was "unlikely" to have been fired from within Russia.
The Associated Press reported US officials believed it was fired by Ukrainian forces attempting to intercept a Russian missile.
The G20 declaration called for international law to be upheld and that the "use or threat" of use of nuclear weapons was "inadmissible".
It said "most" members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, stressing it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy. But it also conceded there were "other views and different assessments" of the situation and sanctions.
Russia is a G20 member, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left Bali early on Tuesday night to fly home. China had been pushed to exert its influence on Russia.
"Today's era must not be of war," the G20 leaders stated.
There was no immediate response from Russia to the G20 declaration.
'Reckless and dangerous'
From the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the US President in calling for a full investigation into the "tragic" and "deeply concerning" blast.
"Russia's reckless and dangerous use of force promotes danger for the entire region, and we've seen that overnight. I send my condolences to Poland on the loss of life," he told reporters.
"As Secretary-General Stoltenberg and President Biden have said, we need to have a full investigation as to how this has occurred and the circumstances. It must take place and then we should consider what as an international community is an appropriate response."
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Russian President Vladimir Putin opted against attending the G20 Leaders' Summit, and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left Bali early on Tuesday night to fly back to Russia.
Leaders of NATO and G7 member nations held an emergency meeting in Bali, condemning Russian missile attacks on Ukraine as "barbaric" and laying blame for the incident on Moscow.
They also backed Poland's announcement of a full investigation into the blast.
"We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland's ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds," the leaders said in a statement.
But he said the missile was "unlikely" to have been fired from within Russia.
"There is preliminary information that contests that, [but] I don't want to say that until we completely investigate," he said.
"I'm going to make sure we figure out exactly what happened ... and then we're gonna collectively determine our next step as we investigate and proceed."
'The threat is there'
President Biden suggested NATO ambassadors would meet to discuss the incident, but did not expand on its potential implications for the conflict.
The explosion has prompted concerns NATO could be dragged into the conflict, given Article 5 of the defence pact frames an attack on any member state as an attack on the bloc in its entirety.
But Sonia Mycak, Ukraine expert at the ANU's Centre for European Studies, stressed the pact only required a member state to provide assistance "as it deems necessary".
Even Poland responding with military force, by no means guaranteed, would not compel other NATO states to commit their own troops.
"They can assist in any form, from holding a peace rally to donating socks," Dr Mycak said.
"So it is just premature for us all to jump to the conclusion that this will result in some kind of NATO attack on Russian forces."
Dr Mycak said the constant bombardment of Ukrainian border towns meant the conflict always risked spilling over into Poland, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Tuesday's incident may have suddenly made that prospect "real" to the international community, she said, but debates over protecting the skies of western Ukraine were being held in Poland as recently as mid-June.
"Polish people living in the [country's] east have been stocking up on emergency supplies in their pantries for months now, thinking that exactly this could happen," she said.
"Whether this is a mistake on the part of Russian forces, or whether it's deliberate, the threat of this happening has been there for months."
'World looks to China'
Mr Albanese on Tuesday became the first Australian leader to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in half a decade, a sign three years of icy relations may be thawing.
Pressed on whether Labor will use the development to raise Ukraine with Beijing, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said "all of us should care" about the invasion.
"The world does look to China, a great power and permanent member of the [United Nations] Security Council, to use its influence to end a war that is not only illegal and immoral, but a war that risks security," she told reporters on Wednesday.
"We all want peace."
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Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham described the explosion as "very troubling", insisting that Australia work in "absolute lockstep" with NATO in the missile strike investigations and on any response.
Senator Birmingham called on Beijing to make stronger statements about Russia's aggression.
"Whilst President Xi Jinping is there with other leaders in Bali he should step up and apply extra pressure on Russia to end this illegal, immoral invasion of Ukraine," he told reporters.
"And in ending it not just stop the bloodshed and provide respect for international laws, but also to end the type of economic turmoil that it has been causing to energy markets around the world."