The closure of the Russian House in Berlin is not imminent despite new allegations of espionage ties, the Federal Foreign Office said, citing two bilateral cultural agreements with Moscow that cannot be easily terminated without also jeopardising the Goethe-Institut in Moscow.
A joint investigation by WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung cited a French interior ministry assessment alleging the institution serves as cover for Russian intelligence services. The operating company is already under EU sanctions over Russia's war against Ukraine, and the Foreign Office pays €70,000 annually in property taxes on the building to the state of Berlin.
CDU foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter demanded the immediate closure of the Friedrichstraße institution, founded in 1984. Steffen Krach, an SPD candidate for Berlin mayor, urged the federal government to consider shutting it down. The Russian House maintains it is a cultural institution operating under valid government agreements.