OREANDA-NEWS The Australian Foreign Ministry refused a petition demanding the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Sydney, pointing out that Russia is an influential world power. The corresponding statement by the head of the Foreign Ministry Penny Wong was distributed by the office of the Federal Parliament of the country.

The document, in particular, states that "Russia remains a world power with influence, including as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and existing diplomatic channels allow Australia to defend the interests of its citizens." "Like many countries, along with the embassy in Canberra, Russia has a consulate general in Sydney, including to provide consular services to the Russian diaspora in Australia," the minister said in a statement.

The minister also stressed that although the Australian government "has limited bilateral cooperation with Russia and relations between Moscow and Canberra are not now ordinary business relations," but maintaining diplomatic channels between the two countries is in Australia's interests. "The government remains clearly committed to ensuring that the number of accredited Russian diplomats and consular officials in the country reflects our national interests," the document says.

A petition to close the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Sydney was submitted to the Federal Parliament of Australia in October 2023. The applicants, who collected 1,405 signatures under their request, argued that "the consulate in Sydney does not serve any practical purpose that would benefit Australian-Russian relations, and the Russian Embassy in Canberra can handle the registration of passports and visas."