Icons and frescoes of Hagia Sophia, despite the change in its status, will be preserved in its current form, Turkish Ambassador to Russia Mehmet Samsar said.
According to him, the decisions concerning Hagia Sofia are "completely an internal matter" of Turkey. "The fact that Hagia Sophia has been preserved so well to this day is an indicator of the importance that our country attaches to historical and cultural sites. In this regard, as before, we will continue to work carefully to preserve Hagia Sophia and pass it on to the next generations. Everyone should be sure of this," the Ambassador said.
"The Hagia Sophia mosque, like all our mosques, will be open to all visitors - local and foreign. And in the future, as before, we will take care of this masterpiece. Icons and frescoes will be preserved in their current form, and all visitors will see it. Changing the status of Hagia Sophia is not a violation of the UNESCO Convention on the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage (1972 Convention), to which our country is a party," the diplomat stressed.
The status of Hagia Sophia as a state museum was approved by a government decision on November 24, 1934, signed by the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
On July 10, the Turkish State Council canceled the government's decision to grant Hagia Sophia the status of a museum. Then Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree according to which Muslim worship will resume in Hagia Sofia. A number of local Christian churches, including the ROC, expressed regret over the decision. The same reaction came from UNESCO. Hagia Sophia, built in the VI century and a monument of Byzantine architecture, was included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1985.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Michael Metzel / TASS
Based on materials from TASS