Greek PM urges 'political will and courage' in talks with Britain over Parthenon Marbles
Kyriakos Mitsotakis has urged 'political will and courage' to end the two-century dispute with Britain over the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday urged “political will and courage” in the country’s protracted battle with Britain over the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, Channel News Asia reports.
In an opinion piece in The Guardian, Mitsotakis wrote: “What is needed now is the political will and courage to take the decisive step, to reunite the sculptures and transform a historic dispute into a unique act of cultural friendship.”
The intervention follows several years of talks with the British Museum, which has held the ancient friezes for more than two centuries, over loaning them back and easing a decades-long dispute that has soured UK-Greek ties. It comes weeks after the museum began displaying the Bayeux Tapestry as part of an unprecedented loan agreement with France.
In the article, Mitsotakis noted British Prime Minister Andy Burnham — who replaced Keir Starmer in Downing Street in July — had previously called for the sculptures’ return to Greece with “no strings attached”. But Burnham adopted the UK government’s longstanding position in August, telling the Financial Times it was a matter for the British Museum.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that years of talks about the Marbles’ future had “collapsed” amid Greek frustration at a lack of progress. A museum spokesperson did not confirm the report, telling AFP late on Wednesday that its “openness to a deal is unchanged”.
Museum director Nicholas Cullinan told the FT last month that the Bayeux Tapestry loan had given hope that “some tangible progress can happen” with the sculptures.
The Parthenon Marbles, also called the Elgin Marbles, have been a source of contention for over two centuries. Greece maintains they were looted in 1802 by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire; London claims they were legally acquired and sold to the British Museum.
Sources
- Channel News Asia: Greek PM urges ‘courage’ in talks with UK over Parthenon Marbles — https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/greek-pm-urges-courage-in-talks-uk-over-parthenon-marbles-6407806
- Dubai Telegraph: Greek PM urges ‘courage’ in talks with UK over Parthenon Marbles — https://www.dubaitelegraph.ae/Culture/731981-greek-pm-urges-courage-in-talks-with-uk-over-parthenon-marbles.html
- BBC: Greek PM urges UK PM to return Elgin Marbles permanently — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqm2mgk6mlddo
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