The Russian Embassy in Australia has confirmed that there are Russian employees at the site in the capital Canberra, where a new diplomatic mission building is planned, but there is no talk of seizing the land, transmits CASS.
The employees “ensure the security of the building of the consular service, already built and almost ready for operation, as well as construction materials”, explained the embassy.
“Reports that the Australian police somehow attempted to evict them are simply false, as is the information about the seizure of the site,” the diplomatic mission said.
On June 26, the Supreme Court of Australia will consider the Russian party’s request that the rental agreement be preserved.
In 2008, Russia leased a site in Canberra about 400 meters from the Australian Parliament Building to build a new housing complex to replace Griffith’s embassy. In August 2022, the National Capital Authority (NCA) Canberra declared upon termination of the lease agreement, as Russia has not fulfilled the obligation to complete the work within three years and does not use the site.
“The unfinished construction violates the overall aesthetic, importance and dignity of the area intended for diplomatic missions and foreign missions,” the NCA said.
At the end of May 2023, the federal court of Australia declared the decision of the Canberra authorities invalid and unenforceable. Two weeks later, the Australian government passed legislation canceling the rental contract with Russia.
According to The Australian and other media, a “squatter” was spotted at the Canberra site shortly afterwards. Journalists say the police are following him, but they cannot detain him because he is a diplomat. France Media Agency reported citing an Australian government source that the man enjoys diplomatic immunity, although he is not on the public list of Russian representatives in Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ‘a guy standing in the cold on a patch of grass in Canberra’ is not a threat to national security.
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