Moscow embassy vulnerable: memo
OTTAWA — Canada’s diplomats in Moscow will have to work another three years in an embassy compound that’s vulnerable to terrorist attack and the prying eyes of foreign spies, The Canadian Press has learned.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was warned in an internal memo from a senior bureaucrat that Canada’s embassy in the Russian capital offers “almost no protection” against a terrorist attack.
A leaked copy of the memo details the stalled embassy project, outlining why diplomats won’t be moving to a more secure facility until January 2016 instead of last July as planned.
The delay has added nearly $30 million to the cost of the project, since Foreign Affairs received approval in 2008 to move the embassy to a more suitable building.
A quarter of the increased cost – or $7.5 million – is for extra construction to keep unidentified “threats” from spying on Canadian diplomats in the new embassy.
The memo surfaced after the recent high-profile closures of Canada’s embassies in Iran and Syria, decisions that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Baird have said were made to keep Canadian diplomats out of harm’s way.
Meanwhile, the current Russian embassy remains open even though the “embassy complex does not meet DFAIT security standards in terms of the building envelope.”
The Canadian embassy and ambassador’s residence have been housed in a series of connected buildings in Moscow that date back to 1898.
“The possibility of terrorist incidents in Russia is high and the existing site offers almost no protection against an attack. Moscow is an extremely hostile environment and the current site is highly vulnerable to counter-intelligence threats,” says the memo from an associate deputy minister.
“These buildings have deteriorated beyond acceptable workplace standards.
“Compounded by age, numerous physical and structural deficiencies, and severe overcrowding, the chancery poses ongoing health, safety and security risks to Embassy staff and other user[s] of the facility, and impedes the effective delivery of mission programs.”
Hundreds of people have been killed in terrorist attacks in Moscow dating back to the mid-1990s.
The two most recent – also cited in a Foreign Affairs warning to Canadian travellers – are the January 2011 blast at Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport that killed 30 and injured about 100; and the March 2010 rush-hour attacks on the Moscow subway system that killed 37 and injured 120.
Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jessica Seguin said precautions are being taken to ensure that Canada’s personnel, interests and visitors are protected at its Russian embassy.