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The Kremlin itself actually hopes that Turkey will maintain the status of Hagia Sophia as a UNESCO world heritage site in deciding the fate of the historic landmark.
Kremlin palace spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, expressed his views to reporters on Monday (6/7).
"We certainly hope that the status of Hagia Sophia as a world heritage site will be considered," he said, as quoted by Tass, Tuesday (7/7).
"Of course, this is a world masterpiece favored by tourists coming to Turkey from all over the world and especially by tourists from Russia who not only recognize the value of Hagia Sophia tourism, but also the sacred spiritual value," he added.
Peskov stressed that the comments did not intend to interfere in Turkey's internal affairs.
"This is the internal affairs of the Turkish republic," he said later.
Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told reporters that Russia hoped Turkey would consider the global significance of Hagia Sophia, when deciding the fate of this historic monument.
Earlier, at the instruction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish State Council discussed this issue on 2 July. The debate will last for 17 minutes, and a decision is expected to come out within the next 15 days.
The Hagia Sophia is a Byzantine architectural monument that was built between 532 and 537 AD with a decree from the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Initially this building functioned as a Cathedral.
After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the cathedral was converted into a mosque. In 1935, under a Turkish government decree signed by the founder of the modern Turkish state Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the building was converted into a museum. Since then, white plaster covering Christian mosaics and murals has been removed.
In 1985, the building was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage monuments.
