Russia's senior lawmaker Andrey Klimov told Sputnik on Friday that Turkish politicians assured him that Christians, including those coming from Russia, would still be admitted to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul despite the court ruling to convert it from a museum into a mosque
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2020) Russia's senior lawmaker Andrey Klimov told Sputnik on Friday that Turkish politicians assured him that Christians, including those coming from Russia, would still be admitted to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul despite the court ruling to convert it from a museum into a mosque.
"I spoke to high-ranking Turkish politicians today, and they assured me that Christians, including those coming from Russia, would still be admitted to Hagia Sophia, as previously," the deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee told Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, media reports emerged that Turkey's highest administrative court has annulled the 1934 decree converting Hagia Sophia into a museum, which means that it can now be used as a mosque. The decision came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested last year that Hagia Sophia formerly, the Church of the Holy Wisdom, which used to be an Orthodox Christian cathedral before becoming a mosque and then a museum could become a mosque again with free admission.
