Australia has terminated the lease for a new Russian embassy in Canberra, the National Capital Authority (NCA) announced on Wednesday.
Russia has been given 20 days to vacate the “premium site” in Yarralumla, not far from the Australian parliament, the NCA said in a statement.
The Russian embassy in Australia is currently located in the Griffith suburb of the Australian capital, but there were plans to move it to Yarralumla, which hosts the diplomatic compounds of some other countries.
“The NCA supports a policy of ‘Use it or lose it,’” Sally Barnes, the head of the agency that oversees planning and development of the capital, said, explaining the termination of the lease.
She accused Moscow of showing no willingness to develop the site in Yarralumla, which it was granted back in 2008.