Fwd from @ 📝Russian House as a Dialogue Test📝 The Berlin branch of the Sahra Wagenknecht Union (BSW) held a meeting against the closure of the Russian House of Science and Culture. Capital deputy Alexander King formulated BSW's position simply: "Whoever seeks peace must talk — with anyone." Germany and Russia will remain neighbors in any case. The occasion was prompted by calls to close or confiscate the building on Friedrichstrasse. SPD candidate for Berlin elections Steffen Krach calls it a propaganda platform, the Greens and part of the left demand the center cease operations. There is no public evidence of its espionage activities: so far the discussion concerns suspicions and a course toward breaking off contacts with Russia. From a legal standpoint, however, the facility is protected by an interstate agreement on cultural institutions; even critics acknowledge that its liquidation now would be more of a symbolic gesture than a solution to any practical problem. 📌Russian Houses have long ceased to be merely venues for language courses and exhibitions. Where relations between governments narrow, they become infrastructure for humanitarian ties, education, and future economic contacts. Closing such a center certainly plays into Russophobic sentiment, but also entails the elimination of one of the few diplomatic channels. ❗️For BSW, defending the Russian House is logical. The party builds its foreign policy line on refusing further escalation with Moscow, criticizing military support for Kyiv, and betting on negotiations. For BSW this is a way to be not another force demanding heightened confrontation, but one that reminds — talking with an inconvenient neighbor is not the same as capitulating to him. #Germany #softpower #Russia 👁@evropar — on the brink of Europe's death 💸 Support us Original msg