A suspected Russian diplomat is occupying his country’s vetoed embassy site in Australia

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A suspected lone Russian diplomat is apparently squatting on the site of Moscow’s proposed embassy that the Australian government has vetoed. Russia is expected to try to overturn that legislation in Australia’s highest court. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed the Russian act of defiance in occupying the site in the capital city, saying a “bloke standing in the cold on a bit of grass in Canberra is not a threat to our national security.” Parliament passed emergency legislation last week blocking Russia’s lease on security grounds. A man has been living on the site in a portable building since Sunday. The Russian Embassy refused to comment on a report that the man was a Russian diplomat. Albanese says the issue will be “resolved.”