Tony Abbott to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Beijing The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with PM Tony Abbott in Beijing. Old foes ... Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Russia's President Vladimir Putin on the final day of the APEC Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali in 2013. The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold formal talks with Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Beijing, but says the meeting "will be short." Both leaders arrive in China over the weekend for the annual APEC summit. Australia had sought a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, the first since Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down over east Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard, including 38 Australian citizens and residents. Game on ... Graphic artists on design website DesignCrowd came up with a series of Photoshopped images depicting Tony Abbott and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a fight, after Abbott declared he would "shirt-front" Putin at the Brisbane G20 Summit. While much has been made of Mr Abbott's plans to "shirt-front" the Russian president at the G20 in Brisbane over the downing of MH17, the pair will encounter each other first in Beijing. THREAT: Tony Abbott's vow to "shirt-front" Russian President Vladimir Putin Mr Putin's top foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov confirmed to reporters that Moscow had agreed to a meeting on November 11 in Beijing. "It will be short," Ushakov said. The APEC summit marks the beginning of a whirlwind week of diplomacy for Mr Abbott, who will also visit Myanmar for Asian security talks before returning to Australia to host the G20.