Russia accuses Australia of ‘Russophobic hysteria’ for blocking embassy

The site of the proposed new embassy is close to the Australian parliament (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)

Russia accused Australia of “Russophobic hysteria” for cancelling the lease on the land where Moscow wanted to build its new embassy, which the Australian government judged to be a security risk because it was too close to Parliament House.

Parliament passed emergency legislation blocking the lease on Thursday after Russia won a Federal Court appeal last month against local Canberra authorities’ decision to do the same.