Germany’s Federal Foreign Office is still cautious, but politicians across the political spectrum are calling for tougher action against the Russian House in Berlin. With its tolerance, Germany is exuding “pure weakness”, they say.
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[Original link in German, this is a paraphrased automated translation with minimal edits.]
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Several German politicians are calling for the closure of the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin-Mitte following new accusations that it is a spy centre.
“This house is a symbol of our weakness and of Russian influence,” the CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter told the broadcaster Welt TV.
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“We are not closing it because, conversely, we believe that the Goethe-Instituts in Russia will then be closed. But: So what? Then they’ll just be closed.”
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A spokesman for the German Federal Foreign Office referred to the bilateral agreements on “property matters” that exist between Germany and Russia. These also concern the Goethe-Institut in Moscow. Both institutions are therefore “directly linked to each other”.
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The investigative team of [public broadcaster] WDR and the [daily newspaper] “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported last week on an assessment by the French Ministry of the Interior. It states that the Russian House is “used as a cover by the Russian secret services”.
Kiesewetter emphasised that the facility’s energy consumption is considerably higher than it would be for the 100 people who live there. “The cultural offering is strange, but because the electricity consumption is also so high, we assume that there is technically complex equipment there, and that people are accommodated there who also have to be accommodated there in the Russian sense,” said the CDU politician.
The Chair of the European Parliament’s Defence Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), spoke in favour of closing the facility. “In the middle of Berlin, I’ll say it quite clearly, sits the enemy of freedom – and we’re watching. And that is unbearable,” she told Die Welt.
The defence policy spokeswoman for the Green Party parliamentary group, Sara Nanni, told the broadcaster: "We are letting Russia walk all over us."One consequence that Germany could take, according to her, would be to close the Russian House. What Germany is currently projecting is “pure weakness”, according to the Green Party politician.
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It is one of very few places in Germany, where Russia can have officials come into Germany legally. Those have a decent chance of being agents and therefore it makes sense to watch those places and officials. The fewer there are the easier that becomes.
Using third parties is possible, but riskier and is more work for Russia. Getting visas for Germany and the EU in general is pretty hard for Russians today.
By let them use this building, the state respresented by the local administration has the legal task to supervise almost anything the laws and regulations specify, like safety regulations in case of a fire, maintenance activities and so on.
Also law enforcement and intelligence are probably happier to watch and observe whatever the people actually (plan to) do in a (more) “easy mode”. Even if its getting used for distraction and/or propaganda by the russian officials it may deliver some evidence for acutal threats of which some are unlikely to find in the whole wide world with almost unlimited possibilities.