Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, to change the status of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, RIA Novosti reports.

“On Friday, the State Council of Turkey, the country’s supreme administrative court, annulled the 1934 decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a museum, and right after that, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that he has signed a decree to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque and start providing services for Muslims there.