Top Greek Diplomat Views Status Change Of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia As Global Issue

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2020) Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in an interview with the Skai tv channel that it would be dangerous to look at the issue of Hagia Sophia museum's conversion into a mosque from the perspective of the Greek-Turkish relationship alone, and called for addressing it as a global issue instead.

EU ministers of foreign affairs are expected to discuss on Monday the Turkish top administrative court's decision to annul a 1934 cabinet decree converting Hagia Sophia into a museum and giving it green light to be used as a mosque.

"There, [at the EU meeting] Greece will ask the European Union to draw up a list of the stringiest possible measures against Turkey in case it violates the sovereign rights of Greece," Dendias said in the interview.

The top diplomat went on to say that Greece's mediation in this debate was not enough and that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the UN must show their initiatives.

"The danger is that we reflect on the issue of Hagia Sophia from the angle of the Greek-Turkish relationship, while it is a global one.

It is the issue of neglecting the rules and disrespecting the world community," Dendias said.

The minister noted that Ankara's decision on Hagia Sophia was another provocative action against Greece and other countries in the region, and the fact that Turkey did not show any spirit of cooperation to comply with the international law should not be ignored.

On Friday, Turkey's Council of State annulled the historical decree, which made the site a museum for the past 80 years. This decision means that the Hagia Sophia can now be used as a mosque, and a presidential decree was signed opening the site for Muslim prayers.

During his recent television appearance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country would continue to "take the right path, in order to build a mighty and strong Turkey."

The ruling to turn the site in Istanbul into the mosque has been met with firm resistance from many members of the international community. The Russian Orthodox Church has expressed its regret that Ankara ignored calls to preserve the site as a museum.