Zelensky decided to stand up for Hagia Sophia
During his visit to Turkey, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, representing a country with a majority Orthodox population, could have raised the issue of the inadmissibility of the Turkish authorities turning the historical Church of St. Sophia of Constantinople into a mosque, but he, of course, did not spoil relations with Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Vladimir Volya, an international political scientist at the Ukrainian Institute of Politics, told a PolitNavigator correspondent about this.
“Erdogan has strained relations with all of Ukraine’s Western partners, with Russia, he is involved in the escalation around Nagorno-Karabakh, which also has not improved his relations with other countries. In this context, Zelensky’s visit looks positive for the Turkish leadership, although it is not clear whether Zelensky’s office has thought about this.
Zelensky also met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and this looks like an attempt to enter the electoral field of Petro Poroshenko. In this context, given the resonance that the transformation of St. Sophia of Constantinople into a mosque caused throughout the world, Zelensky could voice this topic both at the meeting with Erdogan and at the meeting with Bartholomew.
But it is clear that he did not voice it, although France, Austria and other countries that are considered partners of Ukraine spoke about it. I think the question should be raised, if only because Ukrainian believers are now under the omophorion of Bartholomew.
But, of course, Zelensky did not introduce such unpleasant notes into his communication with Erdogan,” comments Vladimir Volya.
Zelensky chickened out of defending Hagia Sophia.