Pompeo urges Turkey ‘to keep Hagia Sophia as a museum’, Turkey slams his remarks

* Photos: Anadolu Agency (AA), Pixabay

The Tenth Chamber of the Council of State is expected to announce its decision on whether Hagia Sophia shall be maintained as a museum or converted back into a mosque today (July 2).

Ahead of this ruling, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a statement yesterday and expressed his opinion in favor of the former.

Sharing a brief message on Twitter, Pompeo said, "We urge the Government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect Turkey's diverse faith traditions and history, and to ensure it remains accessible to all."

We urge the Government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect Turkey’s diverse faith traditions and history, and to ensure it remains accessible to all.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 1, 2020

The Hagia Sophia was used as a church for 916 years. In 1453, it was converted into a mosque by Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II when the empire took over İstanbul. Under the Republic of Turkey, it became a museum in 1935.

As reported by BBC Türkçe, the hearing of the lawsuit filed for the annulment of the Council of Ministers decree dated 1934 that paved the way for the Hagia Sophia's conversion into a musem is held today. Following this hearing, the 10th Chamber of the Council of State is expected to announce its ruling either today or within 15 days as of today. 

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Statement by Foreign Ministry

In response to this message, Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release on its official website later in the day. "We are astonished by the press release issued by the U.S. Department of State on the status of the Hagia Sophia," the statement has read and continued as follows:

"Our government took silent revolutionary steps to protect the freedom of religion and belief, which is guaranteed by our constitution and laws, for all our citizens without any discrimination.

"In this context, we protect meticulously all cultural properties that we own without any distinction, including Hagia Sophia, within the framework of the tradition of tolerance stemming from our culture and history.

"Turkey has been delicately cherishing the historical, cultural and spiritual value of Hagia Sophia since its conquest.

"On this occasion, we remind once again a reality that we have to repeat constantly. The Hagia Sophia is the property of Turkey, like all our cultural assets located on our land.

"Every kind of power disposition regarding Hagia Sophia is also an issue concerning our internal affairs within Turkey's sovereignty rights.

"Naturally everyone is free to express their own opinion. However, it oversteps the mark to talk about our sovereignty rights using a language of 'warning and imposition'." (SD)