A mystery Russian diplomat with a penchant for loungewear and cigarettes sparked a national security standoff between Canberra and the Kremlin.
Australia has blocked Russia from building a new embassy on a scruffy parcel of land a stone's throw from Parliament House.CANBERRA - A mystery Russian diplomat with a penchant for loungewear and cigarettes sparked a national security standoff between Canberra and the Kremlin Friday, defying Australian efforts to seize a messy construction site in the heart of the capital.
Russia on Friday launched a legal bid to save the project, while embarking on an unusual diplomatic gambit: despatching a bespectacled official to squat in a run-down portable cabin on the site. Government sources told AFP the man has diplomatic protection, although he did not seem to appear on Russia's public list of representatives in Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday described the diplomat as"some bloke standing in the cold on a blade of grass in Canberra".Russia bought the lease to the land from the Australian government in 2008, and in 2011 was granted approval to build its new embassy thereRussia bought the lease to the land from the Australian government in 2008, and in 2011 was granted approval to build its new embassy there.
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