Australia’s Top Court Blocks Russia From Building New Canberra Embassy

Australia’s Top Court Blocks Russia From Building New Canberra Embassy
General view of the Coat of Arms at federal Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on May 9, 2023. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images
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SYDNEY--Australia’s highest court on Wednesday blocked Russia from building a new embassy in the nation’s capital, unanimously upholding a law that cancelled its lease on national security grounds.

Russia owned a lease to a plot of land that is about 300 metres (984 feet) from Parliament House in Canberra and intended to build a new embassy building there to replace an older building elsewhere in the capital.