Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report of the European Parliament A-10-0067/2025 on the 2023 & 2024 Commission on Türkiye and the subsequent motion of 6 May, in particular paragraph 25 of the report where the parliament calls for Turkey to respect the role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for Orthodox Christians; recognise its legal personality and the public use of the ecclesiastical title of Ecumenical Patriarch; and protect the value of UNESCO World Heritage sites the Hagia Sophia and Chora Museum.

The UK calls on Turkey, as a founding member of the Council of Europe, to uphold the rights of all religious groups in Turkey as enshrined within the Turkish constitution and to implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. Decisions on the status of Hagia Sophia are a sovereign matter for Turkey. However, the Government expects Hagia Sophia and the Chora Museum, as part of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, to remain accessible to all and that their cultural and religious significance be preserved. We welcome assurances by the Turkish Government that the Hagia Sophia will remain open to people of all faiths and nationalities. The UK continues to work closely with UNESCO, its advisory bodies and partner governments, including Turkey, to promote the highest standards of heritage protection. This will ensure designated sites are protected effectively for the whole of humanity and for future generations.