Decision to change Hagia Sophia’s status is ‘regrettable’ says EU’s Borrell

A decision by Turkey to declared Istanbul's Hagia Sophia open to Muslim prayer as a mosque is “regrettable,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said in a statement issued Friday evening.

“Hagia Sophia has a strong symbolic, historical and universal value…The ruling by the Turkish Council of State to overturn one of modern Turkey's landmark decisions and President Erdogan‘s decision to place the monument under the management of the Religious Affairs Presidency, is regrettable,” he said.

“As a founding member of the Alliance of Civilisations, Turkey has committed to the promotion of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue and to fostering of tolerance and co-existence,” he added.