REUTERS/Christian HartmannCAIRO – 13 July 2020: European Union foreign ministers criticized Turkey for starting gas exploration operations in disputed Mediterranean waters and transforming the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque on Monday. The ministers were planning months ago to discuss taking a tougher stand on Ankara though no urgent measures were expected. "When I see now what is happening with Hagia Sophia, that is a blow," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said. Hagia Sophia was originally built in Istanbul as a Christian cathedral, and the pope and others have expressed their sadness and criticism of President RecepTayyipErdogan's move. The agreement would allow Turkey to claim a large swathe of the Mediterranean, infringing the sovereign rights of regional neighbors.

Source: Egypt Today July 13, 2020 13:07 UTC