MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) Moscow expects the decision on the fate of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to be measured and to take into account he UNESCO guidelines, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Thursday.
Hagia Sophia, which is currently a museum, used to be a mosque, but was built as a Greek Orthodox church. A court in Turkey looked into a case on converting the building back into a mosque and ruled on Thursday that a president's decree should be enough to do that. The final decision will be announced within 15 days.
"In principle, we believe that the temple is exceptionally important, in terms of culture and history, to the entire humanity. UNESCO has added Hagia Sophia to its list of World Heritage Sites, and we believe that any demands linked to this status, including the preservation and accessibility of the site, will be complied with," Zakharova said.
Moscow expects the decision on the fate of the church to "have a measured character, given how sensitive the issue is to the religious people."
