Avramopoulos - Aghia Sofia Is (And Will Remain) A World Heritage Monument

The Foreign Ministry is "closely following developments related to the Aghia Sofia church in Costantinopole and the Turkish government's switch in policy related to Christian monuments on its territory," Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said in a letter to Parliament.

Responding to a question by Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) MP Christos Pappas, Avramopoulos noted that the idea of converting the Byzantine monument from a museum it currently is to a mosque was in a proposal tabled in the Turkish Parliament. At the same time the FM said that Turkish official comments about also converting other Byzantine monuments into mosques raised concerns.

   Avramopoulos: "Both Greece and the rest of the Christian world hope that the voice of logic - including that of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew - will prevail in Turkey and the monuments that play such a symbolic role for Christianity and are an integral and visible part of the world's cultural heritage will be respected".

He also said that the issue has been raised to Turkish officials and that the Greek State is also considering raising the issue with international organisations also.