Russian Diplomats Squatting At Revoked Embassy Site Amidst Legal Challenge

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, June 15, 2023. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

Russia has launched legal action against the Australian government to stop it from revoking its right to a new embassy site deemed a security risk to the country.

The legal bid, launched on June 23, will seek to overturn laws passed on June 15 that allow the Australian government to seize a parcel of land in the capital, Canberra, which had been reserved for Russia’s new embassy.

Currently, a Russian diplomat has begun squatting on the disputed land in a demountable building, with Australian Federal Police unable to arrest the individual because he has diplomatic immunity. The government has also not indicated that it has asked the Russian diplomat to leave the site.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed the legal challenge telling journalists on June 23 that the government had expected some response from the Russian Federation following the decision to terminate the lease. He also said he did not consider the Russian diplomat squatting at the site a national security risk.

“Russia hasn’t been real good at the law lately. Russia has abrogated its responsibility as a nation-state, particularly as a member of the Security Council. Their illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine shows its contempt for the rule of law, for national sovereignty and for the way that it conducts its affairs,” he said.

“We’re very confident of our position, and processes are underway for the Commonwealth to formalise possession of the site.

“Australia will stand up for our values, and we will stand up for our national security. And a bloke standing in the cold on a bit of grass in Canberra is not a threat to our national security.”

On June 15, the prime minister announced the government would seek to remove Russia from the site following  “very clear” security advice about the risks posed by Russia setting up a new facility near the Parliament House.

A demountable shack is seen on the site of the former Russian embassy site in Canberra on June 23, 2023. A lone diplomat is refusing to leave the Commonwealth land formerly held by the Russians for a future embassy, triggering a stand-off with the Australian Federal Police. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

“The government has received very clear security advice as to the risk presented by a new Russian presence so close to Parliament House. We’re acting quickly to ensure the leased site does not become a formal diplomatic presence,” he said.

“To be clear, today’s decision is one taken in the national security interests of Australia, and I thank the Coalition and crossbenchers in the House and the Senate for their cooperation in this matter.”

The bill was supported by both the Coalition, the Greens and independents in both houses of parliament.

Coalition Concerned Diplomat Making a Fool of Australia

However, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham has said Russia is trying to make a fool of Australia, and the government should pursue all steps necessary.

“We shouldn’t tolerate anybody seeking to make any type of fool of Australia in relation to the application of Australian law,” he said.

Minister for Finance Simon Birmingham at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, May 13, 2021. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

“Russia is not welcome to have an embassy on this land, and ... they’re not welcome to be occupying the land either, and it’s not within the law for them to be doing so.”

Embassy Saga Over a Decade Old

Originally leased in 2008 from the National Capital Authority (NCA), which manages the diplomatic precinct in Australia’s capital of Canberra, the Russian government had initially agreed to complete construction three years after its building approvals were granted.

In August 2022, the NCA told the Russian government, which operates another embassy at an alternative location, it had 20 days to vacate the site.

“While initial works have commenced, the block in question has been sitting as a building site with unfinished construction for many years now,” Sally Barnes, CEO of the NCA, said at the time.

“With limited blocks currently available for diplomatic purposes, unless a country can demonstrate a willingness and ability to develop the site, the NCA supports a policy of ‘Use it or lose it.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Russian Embassy for comment.