Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the rising international criticism over the country's decision on whether the Hagia Sophia, a 1,500 year old Unesco World Heritage site in Istanbul, can be converted into a mosque.

"The accusations against our country on the Hagia Sophia mean a direct attack on our sovereignty rights," Xinhua news agency quoted Erdogan as saying at the opening ceremony of another mosque in Istanbul on Friday.