NICOSIA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Cypriot police are investigating a fire that broke out in the Russian cultural center in Nicosia late on Wednesday, Police Spokesman Christos Andreou said on Thursday.
So far, investigators could not find any indication or witnesses to corroborate claims by sources of the cultural center that a Molotov bomb had been thrown and that a loud bang had been heard before the fire started, added the spokesman.
Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government's cultural promotion agency, told a Russian TV channel in Moscow that the fire was the result of a terrorist attack "with the aim of not only causing damage, but also intimidating both our employees and the people who visit this cultural center."
Andreou said police officers were looking into all possibilities and were examining CCTV footage, some of which had been provided by officials of the cultural center.
Fire Brigade Spokesman Andreas Kettis said there were workers at the building when the fire started, because the cultural center was currently being renovated. Due to the ongoing renovation works, there were inflammable materials present both inside and outside the building.
He also said that a gas canister in the kitchen area of the building had been damaged, explaining the intensity of the fire. ■
