This decision was made by the state Council of Turkey, overturning the decision from 1934 about the transformation of Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia) in Istanbul Museum.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree to change the status of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, according to Reuters.
Earlier, the head of state saidthat the status of Hagia Sophia can be changed depending on the decision of the state Council.
Despite the fact that since 1934 on the initiative of the founder of the modern Turkish state Kemal Ataturk, the building became a Museum and was included in the world heritage list of UNESCO, the foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed the opinion that his country has the right to turn the Museum into a mosque without consulting the other States.
Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the decision to Hagia Sophia a domestic affair of the Turkish Republic.
