Australia blocks Russia from building a new embassy near parliament.

 

The Australian Parliament in Canberra 

Australia blocks Russia from building a new embassy near parliament.

The Russian government lost its case in the Australian High Court on Wednesday regarding its bid to build a new embassy less than a kilometer from the Australian parliament.
This comes as Russia has been leasing land about 400 meters from Parliament in Canberra from an agency of the Australian Federal Government since 2008, and in 2011 obtained a building permit for its new embassy.

"Clear security advice"

In August 2022, the Australian government attempted to cancel the contract due to non-compliance with certain building permit clauses, but the federal judiciary overturned this decision in 2023.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the time that "the government had received clear security advice regarding the risks posed by a new Russian presence so close to Parliament."
This decision sparked a legal battle between the two countries, with lawyers representing Moscow stating that the law was unconstitutional.

Payment of compensation

The High Court on Wednesday upheld the validity of the law, but also ruled that the Australian government must pay compensation to Russia .
It is noted that after the law was passed in 2023, an unidentified diplomat occupied the land on which the embassy was to be built, thwarting Australia's attempts to quickly reclaim the land, according to AFP.
The diplomat, who had been using a small security shed amid the building's wreckage, was seen smoking cigarettes in freezing temperatures, but he left the place days after the verdict was issued.