G20 Brisbane: Tony Abbott in awkward triple handshake with Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tony Abbott, Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe in what is sure to be the most awkward moment from G20 Brisbane. US President Barak Obama, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laugh during an awkward three-way handshake at the G20 in Brisbane. PRIME Minister Tony Abbott found himself in the centre of an awkward G20 moment during a meeting with US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe. Following a trilateral meeting on Sunday morning at the Brisbane Convention Centre, the three heads of state were posing for a photographs when they became tangled in a clumsy three-way handshake. Abbott was shaking hands with Prime Minister Abe and only his left hand was free when President Obama shuffled to join them for pictures. Abbott chose to grasp the outside of Obama's hand when the US President extended it for a handshake. The result was a cringe-worthy moment as the Australian Prime Minister stood with his arms crossed, holding hands with two slightly embarrassed world leaders standing either side of him. The triple handshake is sure to be remembered as one of the more awkward moments of the G20. The meeting itself was to discuss Asia-Pacific engagement and their trilateral partnership. Cassandra Wilkinson and Michael Kroger on Barack Obama's G20 speech and why conservatives are boycotting QA. It came less than 24 hours after Mr Obama challenged Mr Abbott to act on climate change. In a statement issued by the White House, this meeting was focused on common ground issues. "The leaders expressed their commitment to deepening the trilateral partnership among Australia, Japan and the United States to ensure a peaceful, stable, and prosperous future for the Asia-Pacific region," the statement read. They noted that this partnership rests on the unshakable foundation of shared interests and values, including a commitment to democracy and open economies, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. The three leaders reaffirmed the global reach of their cooperation and the value of comprehensive US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region. They resolved to tackle pressing issues such as: degrading and ultimately defeating the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and countering the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters; ending the deadly Ebola virus disease epidemic in West Africa; and opposing Russia's purported annexation of Crimea and its actions to destabilize eastern Ukraine, and bringing to justice those responsible for the downing of Flight MH17. Other issues included eliminating the North Korean nuclear and missile threat; addressing human rights in North Korea including the abductions issue; and ensuring freedom of navigation and over-flight and the peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in accordance with international law, including through legal mechanisms such as arbitration. "The leaders expressed their firm commitment to deepen the already strong security and defense cooperation among the three countries and to strengthen the collective ability to address global concerns and promote regional stability through enhanced cooperation on: trilateral exercises; maritime security capacity building and maritime domain awareness; peacekeeping capacity building, particularly in the area of prevention of violence against women; increasing development assistance coordination throughout the region; humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; cyber capacity building; and defense equipment and technology," the statement read. They welcomed work being done to this end and directed their governments to expand trilateral cooperation in all of these areas. The leaders resolved to continue to work together and with our partners in the region to promote strong sustainable growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, including through cooperation in the G20, APEC, EAS and other regional forums to promote sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth and prosperity, free trade and investment, including in infrastructure development and energy efficiency.