The Australian government will oppose the construction of a new Russian embassy near Parliament in Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Thursday, citing a risk to the country’s security.
“The government has been given very clear security advice about the risk of a new Russian presence so close to parliament”he told reporters.
Russia has leased land near Parliament in Canberra, in a contract signed in 2008 that the Australian government has already unsuccessfully tried to cancel.
Albanians announced that the parliament, after unsuccessfully examining all possible legal avenues, will pass new laws to prevent the construction of the Russian embassy on this land.
“We are moving quickly to ensure that the leased site does not become an official diplomatic presence”said the prime minister.
For Australian Home Secretary Clare O’Neil, the new embassy Russia plans to build poses a clear threat to the country’s security.
‘The main problem with the proposal to build a second Russian embassy in Canberra is the location’, he claimed. “The location is directly adjacent to Parliament”.
The Russian embassy is currently located in the Griffith neighborhood, in the south of the city.
Source: DN
