Russia accuses Australia of 'Russophobic hysteria' for blocking second embassy on security grounds

Russia has accused Australia of “Russophobic hysteria” after Australia cancelled the lease on a piece of land where Russia had planned to build its new embassy. The Australian government deemed the location too close to Parliament House and a security risk.

Parliament passed emergency legislation on Thursday to block the lease after Russia successfully appealed a decision by local Canberra authorities to do the same last month.

In response, the Russian Embassy posted a report from Russian news agency TASS on social media, quoting Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov’s condemnation of Australia’s actions.

Peskov is quoted as saying, “Australia, having cancelled the lease agreement for the site for the construction of the new Russian Embassy building, diligently continues to move forward in the mainstream of the authors of the Russophobic hysteria and tries to distinguish itself on this path.”

He added, “Another unfriendly display from Australia. We will take this into account, and if there are issues on the agenda that require the principle of reciprocity, we will act accordingly.”

The Russian Embassy described the lease termination as “another step by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese towards a deliberate and systematic destruction of relations with Moscow.”

The law terminating the lease took effect late Thursday when Governor-General David Hurley, representing Australia’s head of state, King Charles III, gave his approval.

Albanese justified the urgency of the decision as a means to prevent the site from becoming a “formal diplomatic presence.”

Lawmakers cited concerns of espionage and political interference if Russia’s second embassy was built in the Yarralumla diplomatic precinct, in such close proximity to Parliament House.

Currently, Russia occupies the former USSR embassy in the suburb of Griffith, which is farther from Parliament House than the proposed new site. The Yarralumla site would have provided Russia with a second cluster of diplomatic buildings in the capital city, Canberra.

Australian intelligence agencies now consider espionage and foreign interference as the country’s greatest security challenges.

In February, it was reported that Australia had quietly expelled a significant Russian spy ring that had been posing as diplomats. The spy ring included individuals claiming to be embassy and consular staff, as well as other operatives using deep-cover identities, according to unnamed sources cited by The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), the nation’s main domestic spy agency, had earlier announced that it had “detected and disrupted a major spy network.” However, ASIO has not disclosed the country responsible for the espionage.

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