Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves G20 summit early, citing need for sleep

Vladimir Putin jetted out of Australia yesterday after a testy G20 summit where he faced concerted Western fire over the Ukraine crisis, saying he left slightly early because he needed to get some sleep.

The Kremlin strongman, a judo black belt who prides himself on his stamina and his action-man image, left before the final communiqué from the weekend talks was issued, but attended the annual forum's wrap-up lunch and praised the "constructive" discussions.

"We need nine hours to fly from here to Vladivostok and another nine hours from Vladivostok to Moscow," he said.

"Then we need to get home and return to work on Monday. There's a need to sleep at least four to five hours," he said.

But sceptics were not convinced, suggesting Putin was offended by the icy reception from Western leaders in Brisbane.

"After all Putin fled from Australia," quipped MID Roissi, a satirical Twitter account that parodies the Russian foreign ministry feed.