Australia has blocked Russia from constructing a new embassy close to its parliament due to a risk of spying.
According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the intelligence community provided “very clear security advice” regarding the move.
Following the failure of legal efforts to halt the Canberra development, laws designed to halt construction were swiftly passed on Thursday.
The newly passed laws, which have support from both parties, will not have an impact on Moscow’s current embassy.
The new legislation also acknowledges that Russia may be entitled to financial compensation.
In response to the announcement, a Russian diplomat told reporters that “the embassy is seeking legal advice.”.
Moscow currently holds the lease for a plot of land that it purchased in 2008, 400 meters (0.25 miles) from Parliament House.
It has been laying the groundwork for a new embassy building, but progress has been slow.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, relations between Australia and Russia deteriorated, and the former moved to revoke the building permit.
The new legislation was brought about by the federal court last month dismissing an earlier attempt to terminate the lease.
The House of Representatives passed the laws in less than five minutes after they were introduced.
“We don’t expect Russia is in a position to talk about international law, given their rejection of it so consistently and so brazenly with their invasion of Ukraine,” said Mr. Albanese, who condemned Russia’s “illegal and immoral” invasion of Ukraine.
According to former UK diplomat Alex Bristow of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Russia has some of the “largest, most capable, most aggressive, and least constrained intelligence services” in the world.
“Given the proximity, it could be a form of electronic surveillance operating out of the embassy,” he added.
Source-BBC
