Russia has summoned the Australian ambassador to protest the scrapping of a land lease in Canberra for an embassy and says relations are 'at an all-time low'.
In response, Australia's ambassador in Moscow has been summoned by the Russian government.Australia's ambassador in Moscow has been summoned by the Russian government after officials in Canberra cited security concerns for cancelling the lease on a block of land for a proposed Russian embassy.
The government, with the backing of the coalition opposition, rushed legislation through both houses of parliament on Thursday to halt the building of the embassy, in a move that passed in a little more than an hour."Today's decision is one taken in the national security interests of Australia," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Thursday.
"We emphasised that we view this as a blatantly politicised and unfriendly move aimed at further damaging the bilateral relations which, thanks to the efforts of Canberra, are at an all-time low," the Russian foreign ministry said.Russia's existing embassy in the Canberra suburb of Griffith is not affected by the dispute.
The authority decided to terminate the lease, saying "ongoing unfinished works detract from the overall aesthetic, importance and dignity of the area reserved for diplomatic missions". "That is why the government is acting decisively today to bring this long-standing matter to a close."
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