World leaders arrived at the G20 summit in Australia this weekend to help resolve serious global crises - but they stayed for the koalas.

Before getting down to the hard business of fixing the economy, ending the Ebola epidemic and getting to the bottom of the situation in Ukraine, participants of the high-level talks in Brisbane were each handed Australia's cuddly mascot for a photo-op Saturday.

All heads of state at the summit, from the ‘leader of the free world’ President Obama to the ‘Iron Chancellor’ Angela Merkel, proved powerless against the charms of the ridiculously photogenic animals.

Even the usually stone-faced Valdimir Putin, the summit's bete noire, was pictured cracking a rare smile while embracing an adorable marsupial, who appeared to be trying to escape the Russian president’s iron grip.

President Obama was equally overjoyed to spend some quality time with a koala named 'Jimbelung.'

But Obama's new furry friend did not seem very much impressed with the US commander-in-chief, and instead focused his attentions on the koala in the arms of Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

At one point, the two fluffy creatures even exchanged a smooch, to the obvious delight of Obama and Abbott.

Meanwhile the ladies of the G20 were also treated to the ultimate Aussie experience and were led by Mr Abbott's wife, Margie, through Brisbane's Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary on Saturday.

The G20 leaders' wives also getting up close and personal and got to cuddle some koalas while they also got to hand feed some Kangaroos.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's wife Laureen were among the first ladies who laughed nervously as a couple of large kangaroos sidled up to help themselves to the offered food.

The G20 first ladies also got to get alongside some of the country's scaley reptiles, Margie Abbott braving it, decided to hold a snake.

But the ‘koala diplomacy’ could only carry the western leaders so far.

Once the smiles and fuzzy embraces were over, the talks hit their first major stumbling block when Mr Putin declared that he would leave Brisbane early after being threatened with additional economic sanctions if he failed to end Russian backing for rebels in Ukraine.