Paris: On Friday, UNESCO said that its World Heritage Committee would review Hagia Sophia's status after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared the Istanbul monument a mosque.

"It is regrettable that the Turkish decision was not the subject of dialogue or notification beforehand," the United Nation's cultural body said in a statement.

"UNESCO calls on the Turkish authorities to open a dialogue without delay in order to avoid a step back from the universal value of this exceptional heritage whose preservation will be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee in its next session," it said.

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