Australia’s expulsion of two Russian diplomats will have consequences
RUSSIA’S Ambassador to Australia says the world will end up in a new Cold War as he laughs off claims about spies working here, sparking a furious response from Julie Bishop.
National
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RUSSIA’S Ambassador has laughed off claims that the nation has spies in Australia while warning western countries could spark a new Cold War if they continue their “anti-Russia campaign”.
Australia is bracing for retaliation from Russia after the Turnbull Government yesterday announced two spies who had been masquerading as diplomats would be kicked out of the country.
The move was part of a massive joint action by 26 countries, including the United States, to expel about 150 Russian diplomats worldwide yesterday in solidarity with the United Kingdom over the attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
At a fiery press conference at the Russian Embassy in Canberra today, Russian Ambassador to Australia Grigory Logvinov said President Vladimir Putin would be the one who ultimately decided the retaliation for the move.
Ambassador Logvinov also warned western countries against continuing their “anti-Russia campaign”.
“If the West would follow this line, I’m afraid we’ll be deeply in a Cold War situation,” he said.
He literally laughed off the Australian Government’s claim that two of his diplomats were “undeclared intelligence officers” when asked at the press conference.
His jovial denial that two of his staff were spies on ABC’s 7.30 program last night had prompted a scornful response earlier this morning from Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who told Sky News: “He could hardly keep a straight face.”
During the hour-long press conference, Ambassador Logvinov refused to name the two diplomats who would be deported.
He said the two diplomats were declared and even listed on the Russian Embassy’s website.
“We strongly oppose when people without any grounds call spy,” he said.
The Ambassador said there were approximately 35 staff working at the embassy in Canberra — more than the 16 diplomats listed on the embassy’s website.
But he said the remainder were “technical support staff”.
He joked that embassy staff pictured in newspapers today “looking like spies” were actually a driver, an accountant and the wife of an embassy chef.
And asked how many spies would be left in Australia after it’s two diplomats left, Ambassador Logvinov said: “Zero minus zero is still zero.”
Pushed on whether the two diplomats being expelled had dealings with Australian officials, he said of course they had because that was their job as diplomats.
He dodged a question about whether he was aware of any surveillance the Australian Government had conducted on his diplomatic staff but implied, without giving further detail, that there had been poor behaviour by Australian officials towards Russian staff in recent years.
Ambassador Logvinov also implied during the press conference that the whole “Skripal case” had been fabricated by Britain.
“My gosh, who has seen the Skripals after this case? Who has seen any real medical report?” he said.
He added the US investigation into Russian involvement in its presidential elections had found nothing.
“Anti-Russian campaigns have no future,” he said.
Before the press conference began, he had joked with reporters: “The Skripal case attracts even more attention than the cricket scandal.”
The Ambassador also said he had never heard of poisoning in Russia and that it was not a common technique.
“Please don’t watch too many Hollywood movies,” he told reporters.
He did stress when asked however that Skripal was double agent who had agreed to work for Britain “for money” and had already served time for the crime.
“He was sentenced. He served his sentence. He is of no interest to Russia any longer,” he said.
He stated that “any double agent working against his state is a criminal” but would not be drawn on whether the former spy deserved the death penalty.
“We don’t have death penalty any longer,” he said.
“We have indefinite timeless moratorium on death sentences.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister and Ambassador Logvinov met at Parliament
House after Question Time.
Earlier today, Ms Bishop said she had “noted” that the Ambassador denied the two diplomats were spies but said “We have determined that there are two undisclosed intelligence officers working as diplomats and they have six days now to leave Australia.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Ms Bishop had announced yesterday that Australia would expel the two diplomats.
In a statement yesterday, the Russian Embassy in Canberra responded to the announcement by saying Australia was “blindly” following the UK against common sense and the joint action “orchestrated by London” could only “trigger further erosion of international relations architecture on which peace and security in the whole world during the post-war period were rested”.
Ms Bishop today said the message to Russia was clear that the use of chemical weapons to carry out an assassination anywhere would “not be tolerated”.
“It’s an outrageous breach of international law and the way states should behave towards each other,” she told Sky News.
“If it happened in the UK, it could happen elsewhere and Australia had to take a stand with 26 other countries.”
After confusion yesterday, Ms Bishop confirmed Australia was not considering a boycott of the soccer World Cup.
Australia expects Russia to expel two of its diplomats as a response.
Originally published as Australia’s expulsion of two Russian diplomats will have consequences
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