BRISBANE, Australia — Stephen Harper has arrived in Australia for a G20 summit expected to be overshadowed by Russian aggression.
The prime minister says he agrees with his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, who wants to focus the G20 agenda on the very purpose of the gathering of world leaders — the economy.
But he adds other issues are going to be discussed at the summit, including the new China-U.S. climate agreement.
In New Zealand, Harper was asked if the deal puts pressure on Canada to set more ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emissions, but he gave no signal of any plan to change course.
The Conservative government has long said it will follow the U.S. lead on climate change.
The summit appears to be developing as a showdown between Western leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin amid reports that Russian troops are pouring into eastern Ukraine.
A convoy of Russian warships is also in the waters northeast of Australia, prompting Abbott to accuse him of trying to reclaim the lost glories of the Soviet Union.