A Russian diplomat is reportedly squatting on a site where his country was blocked from building an embassy just 500 metres from Parliament House in Canberra.
Australian Federal Police officers are watching the man, but have been unable to arrest him because he has diplomatic immunity, The Australian newspaper reports.
He has been staying in a portable building on the otherwise vacant construction site.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brushed off concerns about the Russian embassy squatter on Friday.
“The national security threat that was represented by a Russian
Embassy onsite is not the same as some bloke standing on a blade of grass. We don’t see as a threat to our national security,” he said.
The government cited security fears for pushing legislation through parliament last week denying Russia access to the prime Yarralumla block.
Moscow has reacted with fury to the ban, labelling it “hysteria”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov last week slammed the decision, accusing Australia of “Russophobic hysteria” and warning of retaliation, saying it was “another unfriendly display from Australia”.
Russia is expected to launch legal action to challenge the ban.
Last week Mr Albanese said the government had received “very clear security advice as to the risks presented by a new Russian presence so close to Parliament House”.
“We are acting quickly to ensure the lease site does not become a formal diplomatic presence,” he said.
Russia’s existing embassy in the inner-south suburb of Griffith is not affected by the decision.
The National Capital Authority granted the lease for the Yarralumla site in December 2008, and building approvals followed in 2011.
Quizzed on Friday about why the initial lease was granted, Mr Albanese said he wasn’t responsible for decisions made in 2008.
“But the world was different in 2008 as well, it was a different time,” he said.
“We anticipated that Russia would not be happy with our response. We expected that, but we’re confident of our position, and processes are underway for the Commonwealth to formalise possession of the site.”
Under the lease conditions Russia had agreed to finish construction within three years, but it remains partially built.
-with AAP
