The dispute between Russia and Australia over the location of Moscow’s proposed new embassy in Canberra has heated up, with local media reporting that a Russian ambassador is squatting on the ground despite the lease being canceled.
The Australian newspaper reported an anonymous Russian diplomat has been staying for several days in a makeshift building on the territory previously held by Moscow.
According to the report, he has been ordering food deliveries to the site while being watched by Australian Federal Police.
It was alleged that the man could not be removed as he holds diplomatic immunity.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated last week that Russia’s lease would be terminated due to security concerns raised by the site’s closeness to parliament. After a court denied a similar effort by local authorities, the government secured bipartisan backing for legislation to cancel the lease.
Russian embassy spokesman declined to comment on the diplomat, stating only that the mission is currently seeking legal advice on the lease termination.
On Friday, Albanese said that the lease’s termination had alleviated any security concerns and he was unconcerned about the ongoing deadlock.
“The national security threat that was represented by a Russian embassy on the site is not the same as some bloke standing on a blade of grass”, he explained.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed on June 15 that Australia was engaging in Russophobic hysteria by canceling the lease, and that Moscow may respond in kind.
Albanese stated on Friday that the government expected Russia to be dissatisfied with our response and that steps were being taken to formalize the processes of the Canberra site.
“Recently, Russia hasn’t been very good at the law”, Albanese noted.
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