ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2019) Greece hopes that Turkey will respect international law and the status of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople as a world heritage monument, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Markos Bolaris said at a briefing on Tuesday.
In late March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Hagia Sophia, which used to be an Orthodox Christian cathedral before becoming a mosque and then a museum, could become a mosque again with free admission.
"Greece always refers to international law. It concerns not only politics, but also culture. There is the United Nations, there is UNESCO. There is also the status of monuments. Our appeal to all is to respect international law, respect international treaties, respect neighbors. We create relations of friendship and good neighborliness, because these law-based relations create a favorable climate for development, for progress, for understanding, for cooperation between nations," Bolaris said.
The deputy minister recalled that Erdogan had made such statements during the election period and expressed hope that the Turkish government would respect international law in regard to Hagia Sophia.
"I also believe that president Erdogan and his government will allow the resumption of the work of the Theological School of Halki. There is now a very good climate for this to happen. Resuming the work of the Halki school will help not only the Constantinople school, but will also be a great step for Turkey toward international public opinion," Bolaris said.
The Theological School of Halki was the only educational institution that trained priests for the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It was closed in 1971. In recent years, negotiations are underway to relaunch its work.
Hagia Sophia in Constantinople had been the largest temple in the Christian world for more than a thousand years. After the seizure of Constantinople in 1453 and the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the cathedral was transformed into a mosque. In 1934 the building became a museum by a decree of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish state. In 1985, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
