Turkey yesterday lambasted Greek statements against the move to convert Hagia Sophia back into a mosque after the first Muslim prayers were held in the Istanbul landmark.

Relations between Nato allies Ankara and Athens have been uneasy in recent months but tensions increased over Hagia Sophia and energy riches in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined thousands for the first Islamic prayer on Friday since Hagia Sophia was reconverted from a museum into a mosque this month.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday said what was happening in Istanbul was "not a show of force, but proof of weakness".

The reaction to Hagia Sophia opening for Muslim worship "once again revealed Greece's hostility towards Islam and Turkey," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said.