German politicians urge closure of Russian House in Berlin

 Senior German politicians called on Tuesday for the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin to be closed amid allegations that it being used as a "cover for Russian intelligence."

"This house is a symbol of our weakness and Russian influence," Roderich Kiesewetter, a foreign policy expert for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) told broadcaster Welt TV.

A joint investigation by German public broadcaster WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily reported last week on an assessment by the French Interior Ministry that found that the Russian House was being used by the Kremlin.

Similar allegations have been made in the past against the institution, which was founded in 1984.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the European Parliament's Committee on Security and Defence, also called for the Russian House to be closed. "Right in the middle of Berlin, I'll put it very clearly, the enemy of freedom is sitting there. And we are just watching," she told Welt TV.

Also speaking to the broadcaster, Sara Nanni, Greens defence policy spokeswoman, said: "We are letting Russia walk all over us."

In response, a Foreign Office spokesman pointed to bilateral agreements between Germany and Russia concerning "property issues."

The agreements cover Germany's Goethe Institute cultural body in Moscow. There are fears in Germany that shutting down the Russian House could lead Moscow to shut down the Goethe institute in Russia.