Tag: parthenon greece

UK’s Sunak Cancels Talks With Greek PM Amid Parthenon Marbles Row

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was left frustrated by the cancellation of the scheduled meeting as he was keen to address the Parthenon Marbles, currently held at the British Museum.

A diplomatic spat erupted between Greece and the UK on Monday after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceled a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

It prompted Athens to accuse London of trying to avoid discussing the contested Parthenon Marbles. The two leaders were due to hold talks at noon on Tuesday in the British capital.

“I would like to express my displeasure at the British Prime Minister’s cancellation of our meeting just a few hours before it was due to take place,” the Greek PM said in a statement.

The BBC reported that Mitsotakis declined an offer to meet British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, as an alternative to his slated meeting with Sunak.

What Sunak and Mitsotakis said about the meeting

Mitsotakis was due to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures from the British Museum in London.

“Greece and Britain are linked by traditional bonds of friendship, and the scope of our bilateral relations is very broad,” Mitsotakis said. “Greece’s positions on the matter of the Parthenon Sculptures are well known. I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart, together with the current major international challenges: Gaza, Ukraine, climate change, and immigration. Whoever believes that his positions are well-founded and just is never afraid of engaging in a debate.”

“The UK-Greece relationship is hugely important,” Sunak’s office said in a statement that made no mention of the disputed sculptures. “From our work together in NATO to tackling shared challenges like illegal migration, to joint efforts to resolve the crisis in the Middle East and war in Ukraine.”

The statement added: “The deputy prime minister was available to meet with the Greek PM to discuss these important issues.”

What is the Parthenon Marbles row?

Greece has long called for the return of the sculptures that were taken by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early part of the 19th century. The sculptures originally adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis.

However, they have since been displayed at the British Museum for over 200 years. Around half the surviving marble works sometimes referred to as the Elgin Marbles, are in London, while the rest lie in a purpose-built museum under the Acropolis.

In March this year, Sunak vowed the UK would not be changing a British law that means it cannot return the Parthenon fragments to Greece.

This article was originally published on DW.


Britain’s Row With Greece Over Treasures Spills Into Brexit Tensions

A demand for the return of ‘stolen cultural artefacts’, including the Elgin Marbles, was added to the draft of a European Union negotiating mandate.

Brussels: A long-running dispute between Britain and Greece over ancient treasures has spilled into tensions over Brexit after a demand for the return of stolen cultural artefacts was added to the draft of a European Union negotiating mandate.

The British Museum in London has refused to return the Parthenon Marbles, 2,500-year-old sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from Athens in the early 19th century when Greece was under Ottoman Turkish rule.

A draft of the 27 EU nations’ position on negotiations with Britain on their future relationship, which was seen by Reuters on Tuesday, seeks the “return or restitution of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin”.

The document did not specify any cultural objects.

An original sculpture of the frieze of the Parthenon temple is exhibited at the Parthenon Gallery of the Acropolis Museum, in Athens, Greece, January 29, 2020. Picture taken January 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

However, an EU diplomat said the line was added at the request of Greece, with support from Italy.

Greece’s culture minister said last month that Athens would step up its campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from London and expected to win more support from European peers as Brexit diminishes Britain’s influence.

The British Museum says the marbles, which are roughly half of a 160-metre frieze that adorned the fifth century BC Parthenon temple, were acquired by Elgin under a legal contract with the Ottoman empire. Greece says they were stolen.

A British government spokeswoman, commenting on the draft EU document, said the UK’s position on the sculptures remained that they are “the legal responsibility of the British Museum”.

“That is not up for discussion as part of our trade negotiations,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the UK out of the European Union on January 31, more than three years after Britons voted in a referendum to leave.

Rhetoric between London and Brussels over the terms of their future relationship has grown sharper this month ahead of negotiations that are due to start in early March.

An EU source, who declined to be named because discussions on the negotiating mandate are confidential, said the reference to stolen artefacts was included in an earlier draft of the document last week.

The source said the reference also had support from Cyprus and Spain and that, Greece’s concerns about the marbles aside, EU countries were more broadly concerned about the illegal trade of artefacts through London auction houses.