Athens demands that London return the ancient statues – he cancels the meeting
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Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused London of trying to avoid the conversation about the return of ancient sculptures. Before that, Great Britain canceled the meeting of its Prime Minister Risha Sunak with Mitsotakis.
The Greek Prime Minister issued a statement in which he “expressed his irritation that the British Prime Minister canceled the planned meeting a few hours before it took place.”
“Greece’s position on the issue of the Parthenon sculptures is well known. I hoped that I would have the opportunity to discuss them with my British colleague along with the main international issues: Gaza, Ukraine, climate change and immigration. He who considers his positions reasonable and fair, will never be afraid to enter into a discussion,” Mitsotakis said.
Athens has long been demanding the return of marble sculptures taken from Greece by the British diplomat Lord Elgin at the beginning of the 19th century. The statues that previously adorned the Parthenon have been stored in the British Museum in London for more than two centuries. The second half of the sculptures is in the Athens museum.
Mitsotakis compared the splitting of the statues to cutting the Mona Lisa in half. By law, the British Museum is prohibited from returning the sculptures, but its management talked with Greek officials about a compromise – for example, about a long-term lease.
London confirmed the cancellation of the meeting of the prime ministers and reported that it still considers the British Museum “the right place” for the marble sculptures.
“At the time, they were purchased legally, they legally belong to the trustees of the museum. We support this position and do not plan to change the law that regulates it,” Sunak’s representative said.
The British Prime Minister’s Office offered Mitsotakis to hold a meeting with Sunak’s deputy, but he refused, according to the BBC. After canceling negotiations with Prime Minister Mitsotakis, he met with the opposition party – Labor leader Kyr Starmer. The party declared that they are ready for negotiations with Greece.
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