Conversion of Church of Chora into a mosque was unnecessary, says Greek PM

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday that the conversion of the historic Byzantine church of Chora in Istanbul into a mosque was not necessary. He added that he will put the issue to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when they meet in Ankara next week.

The “unnecessary conversion of a historic Byzantine temple, the Monastery of Chora, into a mosque is an action which insults Istanbul’s rich history as a crossroads of civilizations and is an issue which, of course, I will put to President Erdogan when I meet him.” Mitsotakis said during a meeting with the President of the Hellenique Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

Two days ago, on Greek Easter Monday, the Turkish government announced the formal opening of the Church of Chora into a mosque. It is the second historic church with significant symbolism for the Greek Orthodoxy that Turkey converts into a mosque after Hagia Sophia.

The Greek PM added that the meeting will serve as an opportunity to assess the effort for a rapprochement between Greece and Turkiye, which he said has had “measurable results on many levels.”

He underlined “we always approach our talks with Turkiye with self confidence and without delusions. The Turkish positions will not change from one day to the next. Nevertheless, I consider it a given that channels of communication should always be open so that we can discuss with sincerity and, when we disagree, do so without tensions and without this leading to an escalation in the field, as we have, unfortunately, seen happening in the last four years.”

President Sakellaropoulou said on the church conversion into a mosque that it does not send good signals as it is a world heritage monument and she noted the need to respect common values in order to have good relations with Europe.