VLADIMIR Putin could be barred from attending November’s G20 leaders’ summit in Brisbane, amid an international campaign of sanctions against Russia over its move to annex Crimea.

Australia has already imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against eight Russians and four Ukrainians deemed to have played key roles in threats to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the move mirrored similar actions by other Western nations, which are now threatening to intensify sanctions against Moscow after it signed a treaty absorbing Crimea and expanding Russia’s borders for the first time since World War II.

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Ms Bishop is refusing to say whether Mr Putin could face his own Australian travel ban ahead of November’s G20 meeting in Brisbane, but Canberra is considering its options.

“We are still deciding on further steps that we will take in relation to the G20,” Ms Bishop told the ABC.

“The G20 meeting is not until November, there’s a lot of water to pass under the bridge.

“It will be the collective action of the international community that I hope will make Russia change course and come back to sensible discussion through diplomatic dialogue.”

Australia is keeping secret the identities of the dozen Russians and Ukrainians targeted by Canberra’s sanctions.

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As world pressure increases, British Prime Minister David Cameron said G7 nations meeting next week must discuss the permanent expulsion of Russia from the wider G8.

The US has imposed sanctions against 11 individuals, including a presidential aide and an adviser; two state Duma deputies; and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. It has also imposed sanctions on four Ukrainians including ousted president Viktor Yanukovich.

Speaking in the UN Security Council, US envoy Samantha Power said Washington might impose further sanctions as a warning that “what happened in Crimea cannot be repeated in other parts of Ukraine,’’ a reference to the country’s eastern Russian-speaking regions.

“A thief can steal property, but that does not confer the right of ownership on the thief,’’ Ms Power said.

“What Russia has done is wrong as a matter of law, wrong as a matter of history, wrong as a matter of policy, and dangerous.’’

Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin attempted to justify the Crimean Peninsula’s referendum to break away from Ukraine and rejoin Russia.

“A historic injustice has been righted,’’ Mr Churkin said, referring to the Soviet-era decision by leader Nikita Khrushchev to hand Crimea to what is now Ukraine.

“The people of Crimea made their choice, and this choice must be respected.’’

Australia told the UN Russia must commit to finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

Australia’s ambassador to the United Nations says now is a critical time for Ukraine, the region and the integrity of the rules-based international order.

“This crisis must be resolved peacefully, through diplomatic means and direct dialogue,’’ Gary Quinlan told the security council this morning.

“Such a resolution must respect Ukraine’s unity and territorial integrity.

“It’s up to Russia to commit to finding such a solution. It is not to late for it to turn from the path of deliberate provocation and isolation it has taken.’’

With AAP/AFP