Canberra had terminated Moscow’s lease on land near the national parliament, citing security concerns
Building on the grounds of what was supposed to be a new Russian embassy near the Australian Parliament in Canberra © AP / Rod McGuirk
Russia has lost its rights to a plot of land in Canberra where it had been building a new embassy since 2011. It follows a decision by Australia’s High Court on Monday affirming a decision to terminate the lease for security reasons.
Moscow appealed to the court after the Australian parliament rushed to adopt new laws earlier this month, which were specifically aimed at terminating a lease agreement for the land that Moscow had been granted back in 2008.
While introducing the new legislation, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed that his “government [had] received very clear security advice as to the risk presented by a new Russian presence so close to Parliament House,” and cited concerns over spying and national security.
“Russia will never, ever, build its embassy on that site,” Albanese said, speaking before the High Court had reached its verdict.
Moscow argued in its appeal that, since it was granted final approval to build the embassy in 2011, it had already invested AU$8.2 million (US$5.5 million) in the construction of the facility. Russia also argued that the integrity of the partially completed building would be compromised if it were forced to suddenly abandon construction.
However, the Australian High Court described Moscow’s appeal as “hard to understand” and ruled that Russia had to vacate the site.
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“There is no proper foundation for the interlocutory injunction as sought by [Russia],” Justice Jayne Jagot said, adding that “the Commonwealth has a clear sovereign interest that the land not be occupied by [Russia].”
In response, the Russian Embassy in Australia called Canberra’s decision “the next step [by Prime Minister] Anthony Albanese on the path of deliberate and consistent destruction of relations with Moscow.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin also blasted the Australian court’s decision, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov describing it as yet another example of “Russophobic hysteria that is now going on in the countries of the collective West.” He said Moscow would take note of Australia’s unfriendly move and “will behave accordingly.”
