By Kostas Onisenko
A “cold bath” for the Greek position and a clear challenge are what the Kremlin Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said on AvtoRadio regarding the decision of Turkey to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
In particular, the press secretary for the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, said that Moscow-Ankara relations would not deteriorate due to the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while making an outrageous statement: “Moreover, I can tell you that the admission fee for Hagia Sophia is really expensive. There will be no fee now, and admission will be free. Our tourists will benefit from this.”
Dmitry Peskov expressed the belief that this decision made by the Turkish side would not damage the relations between Moscow and Ankara because the official line taken by Russia is that (the change in Hagia Sophia’s status) is Turkey’s internal affair.
Full statement of Dmitry Peskov (contentious point at 19:53):
“We have our government’s position, that this is Turkey’s internal affair. That is the first thing. The second is that we hope that, in any decision, our Turkish partners will take into account the status of Hagia Sophia as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the fact that the cathedral is sacred to many Orthodox Christians Orthodox around the world. What does it mean that they take into account the fact that the cathedral is sacred? It means that Christians, our tourists should be able to visit it. Let us keep things from a quite pragmatic point of view. We received explanations. Our Turkish partners explained to us that everything would be maintained in the best possible way, and everyone would be able to visit Hagia Sophia. I will tell you more, admission fees for Hagia Sophia are quite expensive. And now there will be no fee. Admission will be free. In that respect, our tourists will benefit from it. At the same time, of course, we, as Orthodox, respect the position of our Patriarch. We know the position of our Patriarch. It differs from the government’s position.
