AFP, LONDON
As the prime ministers of Britain and Greece met in London yesterday for an agenda expected to include the Parthenon marbles, talks with the British Museum are said to be closer than ever to an agreement for their return to Athens.
On his first visit to Britain since Keir Starmer’s Labour government came to power in July, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that he is “firmly convinced” that the priceless sculptures would be returned to Athens more than two centuries after their departure for London.
“I am firmly convinced that the friezes will be returned. Discussions with the British Museum are continuing,” Mitsotakis told ANT1 TV on Saturday.
Tourists walk in front of the Parthenon at the ancient Acropolis in central Athens on June 12.
Photo: AP
However, he stressed that the talks in search of a solution to a historical dispute that has poisoned bilateral relations for more than 50 years “do not concern the British government, but the British Museum.”
British officials say that the government’s position on the marbles has not changed and that they remain a matter for the British Museum.
A spokesman for Starmer said the prime minister “looks forward to welcoming Mitsotakis to Downing Street,” where he would underline the importance of a strong UK-Greece bilateral relationship.
“He will discuss … joint work on tackling the shared challenge of illegal migration and other priorities, including support for Ukraine [and] a ceasefire in Gaza for regional stability in the Middle East,” the spokesman said.
Britain’s Sky News on Monday reported that Mitsotakis and Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis had held “private meetings” with British Museum officials, including chairman George Osborne, on “two or three occasions” this year.
Mitsotakis’ spokesman later in the day denied that the Greek leader had taken part in private meetings, but said the issue would “obviously” come up in the meeting with Starmer.
British media have reported that Starmer is much more open to the return of the ancient masterpieces to Athens than his predecessor, former British prime minister Rishi Sunak. The latter had dealt a diplomatic slap in the face to Mitsotakis a year ago by canceling a planned meeting between them at the last minute. The move came after Mitsotakis made comments that apparently upset Downing Street.
The Greek leader, an ardent campaigner for the return of the marbles, had told the BBC ahead the Sunak meeting that keeping part of the Parthenon friezes outside Greece was tantamount to “cut[ting] the Mona Lisa in half.”
Starmer, then head of the opposition, later told parliament that Sunak had “obviously lost his marbles” in canceling the meeting.
