Australian PM denies Bush G20 gaffe

[RandomGuy]

Still-president Bush continues to disappoint. In- ing-credible.

---------------------------------------------------------------

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Monday denied a report alleging that US President George W. Bush had asked him what the G20 was, amid mounting political tensions over the embarrassing story.

The newspaper report alleged that Rudd had pushed Bush for a summit of G20 nations during a telephone call about the global financial crisis on October 10 and had been stunned when the US president had asked: "What's the G20?"

The Weekend Australian report, which cited unnamed sources, said the phone call had occurred during a dinner party hosted by Rudd at his official residence in Sydney.

Rudd said he had phoned Bush to discuss the role of the G20, which brings together the world's largest industrialised and emerging economies, in the crisis and stressed that the US leader had not been ignorant of the body.

"The president of the United States has consistently emphasised the importance of the G20 in response to the global financial crisis," Rudd told reporters.

"The purpose of my call to the president was specifically to discuss the role of the G20.

"That was the explicit purpose of the call and the president did not make the remarks that have been attributed to him in the article in question."

Rudd would not confirm whether the story came from his office.

"On the source of individual stories... there are multiple conversations with multiple people from political offices and elsewhere which leads to the construction of a story," he said.

Conservative opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has called on Rudd to apologise to Bush for leaking details of the phone call.

The alleged exchange was leaked "in a way that was clearly authoritative, that clearly came from the prime minister's office," Turnbull said Sunday.

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer, who served in the previous conservative government, has called for an investigation into the alleged leak.

The G20 will meet in Washington on November 15 at Bush's invitation to discuss the financial crisis and Rudd is expected to attend

[TDMVPDPOY]

hey its not rudds fault bush doesnt know what g20 is, let alone the right wing ots down here want an investigation into it, fukn lame....everyday they been in the news running ty campaigns against rudds govt how they are doing during this time of economic crisis, like they can do any better than the current govt.....