Over the past two years, the Greek government has been engaged in delicate negotiations with the British Museum over the future of the Parthenon Marbles, the ancient Greek antiquities brought to Britain by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.
Now British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appears to be pouring cold water on these discussions.
On Monday evening, Mr Sunak abruptly canceled a planned wide-ranging meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that had been scheduled for Tuesday. According to the BBC, the decision was made after Mr Mitsotakis called on British television on Sunday for the return of the marbles to Athens, which include statues of Greek gods and carved frieze panels that once decorated the Parthenon.
Mr Mitsotakis said on the BBC television program that sculptures had been stolen and needed to be reunited in Athens. “Where is the best place to see what is essentially a monument?” he said. The current situation, in which the sculptures are largely split between the British Museum in London and the Acropolis Museum in Athens, is unsatisfactory, he added, comparing it to cutting the Mona Lisa in half and dividing it between two museums.
Mr. Mitsotakis has made similar comments throughout his time in office, and Mr. Sunak has also repeatedly stated that he would not change British law to allow the sculptures, sometimes known as the Elgin Marbles, to leave the British Museum permanently.
In a statement, Mr. Mitsotakis said he was dismayed that the meeting was canceled. “Greece’s positions on the issue of the Parthenon sculptures are well known,” he said in the press release. “I was hoping to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart as well, along with the major challenges of the international era: Gaza, Ukraine, climate crisis, migration.”
Asked about the reasons for canceling the meeting, a spokeswoman for Mr Sunak’s office sent a statement saying the deputy prime minister was available to meet with Mr Mitsotakis.
A spokeswoman for the British Museum said in an interview that the museum had no comment on Mr. Sunak’s decision but that constructive discussions were underway.
For Mr Sunak, a diplomatic row with Greece is an unwelcome distraction at a time when he is grappling with a stagnating economy and a split in his Conservative Party over immigration policy.
Since becoming prime minister last year, he has generally maintained friendlier relations with other European leaders. In February he settled a standoff with the European Union over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade status.
But Conservative politicians have long argued that the Parthenon sculptures are part of the British Museum’s permanent collection and cannot simply be returned to Greece, regardless of their origin.
On Monday evening, Giorgos Gerapetritis, Greece’s foreign minister, said during a lecture at the London School of Economics that he did not believe the disagreement over the future of the sculptures was a “legitimate” reason for canceling a high-level meeting.