Australia's highest court yesterday banned Russia from building a new embassy in the country's capital, unanimously upholding a law that cancels a land lease for national security reasons. Russia had a lease for a plot of land located about 300 meters from the Parliament building in Canberra and planned to build a new embassy there to replace an old one in another part of the capital. However, the Australian government introduced a law in 2023 to cancel the lease after receiving 'a very clear security recommendation regarding the danger posed by any new Russian presence so close to the Parliament building,' as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the time. Russia challenged the law in Australia's High Court, arguing that the Parliament is not constitutionally authorized to pass such a law. Yesterday, the court ruled unanimously that the 2023 Home Affairs Act clearly states the Parliament's constitutional power to take over land if 'legal grounds' exist, but it said Moscow is entitled to compensation. The Russian government had obtained a 99-year lease for the diplomatic use of the site in 2008, paying 2.75 million Australian dollars (1.79 million US dollars). Construction on the new site had already begun but was not completed.
