Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc suggested last week, that he would like to see Hagia Sophia as a mosque. The diplomatic argument between Greece and Turkey continued this Wednesday with the announcement that the Turks have “nothing to learn from the Greeks as far as religious freedoms are concerned.”
The Prime Minister’s comment began an argument between Greece and the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that didn’t respond well to Greece’s criticism. In an announcement, Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that “Turkey has always paid attention to the sanctity of places of worship, while Greece seems negligent towards Ottoman places of worship and cultural monuments. Athens is the only European capital hosting thousands of Muslims, that doesn’t have a mosque.”
Greek representatives are currently considering whether they should respond to the accusations, because they are afraid that Turkey may raise questions of non-bilateral issues between the countries.