Russia-Australia ties strained by MH17
Tony Abbott won't say much about his 3am phone call with Vladimir Putin but it's reasonable to assume it was tense.
It was their first conversation since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine killing 298 people, including 37 Australian citizens and residents.
Russia took umbrage with Abbott in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, singling him out for rebuke after he suggested Moscow had questions to answer over the attack.
Abbott refused to back away when his comments made international headlines, repeating his assertion that Russian-backed rebels were most likely to blame.
But the leaders weren't exactly close before this disaster struck.
Their frosty exchanges at last year's APEC meeting in Bali prompted one senior official to talk of an "iron curtain" between them.
Indeed, Australia has found it increasingly difficult to maintain good relations with Russia in recent years - particularly since Putin returned as president in 2012.
Russia's interference in the Ukraine, obstruction of UN efforts to punish Syria's Assad regime and its crackdown on civil liberties at home has made it hard to love. Its failure to accept any responsibility for MH17 has further eroded Canberra's regard for Moscow.
There was a time when things weren't so grim.
In 2007 Putin became the first Russian leader to visit Australia and was welcomed with open arms by John Howard.
As if to ram home the message that times had changed since the Cold War, Australia signed an agreement to sell uranium to its former foe.
The deal triggered howls of protest but Howard accepted Putin's promise that Russia wouldn't sell the uranium on to rogue states or use it in missiles.
"We respect your modern country, your modern nation," Howard said at the time.
In retrospect, it was the high point in Australia-Russia relations.
The following year, the cracks began to appear. Russia invaded Georgia, ignoring the international condemnation raining down from all sides.
Reading the tea leaves, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned the West was at a "turning point" in its relations with Moscow.
Russia's public image has taken a further beating since Putin took the reigns again in 2012.
The detention of Putin dissidents Pussy Riot and the introduction of controversial anti-gay laws only entrenched Russia's place in the world's bad books.
Australia hasn't held back its true feelings.
Rudd let fly when Russia protected Syria at the UN, while politicians at home slammed Moscow's decision to jail Greenpeace protesters on "piracy" charges.
The language has only ramped up in 2014, with Abbott slamming Russia as a "bully" engaging in "blatant aggression" in Ukraine.
As things stand, it's almost impossible to imagine Abbott welcoming Putin to this year's G20 summit in Brisbane.
Even if Russia co-operates with a UN investigation into the crash - and so far, the signs aren't good - the prospect of Abbott merrily greeting Putin in just four months time seems a fantasy.
