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Albanese hits back at Russian ministers' criticism of Ukraine war

Australia's prime minister has hit back at Russia's foreign minister over comments that Canberra should "do its homework" before condemning the invasion of Ukraine.

Anthony Albanese clapped back during a press conference today and said he will stand by Ukraine and condemn the war due to Russia's actions being "unlawful".

"I've got a message for him which is I will always stand up for sovereign nations, for the international rule of law, for the UN Charter," Albanese said.

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Anthony Albanese

"What he (Sergey Lavrov) needs to do is examine how the behaviour of Russia, this brutal invasion with its illegal war on a sovereign nation fits with Russia's status as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council," Albanese said.

The prime minister's comments come as Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov spoke after the G20 meeting of global foreign ministers in Indonesia and directed a message to Albanese for his government to do its "homework" before condemning the war.

"If Australia is so much concerned about what is going on thousands and thousands of kilometres from Australia, before providing any comments I would suggest that Australia takes a look at volumes of documents, which describe the reasons for the situation in Ukraine as it evolves now," Lavrov said.

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Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov

"I am sure that Australia, ­before commenting on anything as a responsible country, normally looks into effects.

"And I have no slightest doubt that your embassy in Moscow faithfully reports what they learn about the origins of this conflict which was evolving for many, many years.

"If those reports are ignored in Canberra, that's not my problem."

Russia continues to deny it is at war with Ukraine and instead refers to it as a "special military operation".

READ MORE: G20 diplomats fail on unity over war in Ukraine's global impact

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, participates in a trilateral meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, right, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, left, during the G-20 Foreign Ministers Summit in Nusa Dua, on Indonesia's resort island of Bali Friday, July 8, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)

The G20 meeting focused on the war in Ukraine however ministers were unable to find common ground over the conflict and how to deal with the global impacts.

Lavrov walked out of the proceedings at least twice: once when his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock spoke at the opening session and again just before Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was to speak by video at the second session, according to a Western diplomat present.