Diplomatic spat over the Parthenon Marbles scuttles meeting of British and Greek leaders
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting London and had been expected to meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing St. on Tuesday. He was due to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures from the British Museum.
Late Monday Mitsotakis issued a statement to “express my annoyance at the fact that the British prime minister has cancelled our planned meeting a few hours before it was due to take place.”
“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 U.K.-Greece relationship is hugely important,” Sunak’s office said in a statement that notably failed to mention 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 deputy prime minister was available to meet with the Greek PM to discuss these important issues.”
Athens has long demanded the return of sculptures that were removed from Greece by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. The sculptures, which originally adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than two centuries.
About half the surviving marble works are in London, and the rest in a purpose-built museum under the Acropolis in Athens. Appearing on British television Sunday, Mitsotakis compared the separation of the sculptures to cutting the Mona Lisa in half — a remark that annoyed the British government.
The British Museum is banned by law from giving the sculptures back to Greece, but its leaders have held talks with Greek officials about a compromise, such as a long-term loan.
But Sunak’s spokesman took a tough line Monday, saying the U.K. government had “no plans to change our approach, and certainly we think that the (British) museum is the right place” for the marbles.
“These were legally acquired at the time, they’re legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and there’s no plan to change the law which governs it,” said spokesman Max Blain.
“We have cared for the marbles for generations and our position is we want that to continue.”
Mitsotakis met Monday with U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, whose party leads Sunak’s governing Conservatives in opinion polls.
After Sunak’s meeting with the Greek leader was called off Labour said: “If the prime minister isn’t able to meet with a European ally with whom Britain has important economic ties, this is further proof he isn’t able to provide the serious economic leadership our country requires.
“Keir Starmer’s Labour Party stands ready.”
Greek officials said Tuesday that they will continue talks with the British Museum about bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly canceling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed.
But the U.K. government said ownership of the marbles is “settled” — and they’re British.
The 2 European allies traded barbs Tuesday in a deepening diplomatic row that erupted when Sunak called off a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hours before it was due to take place.
Mitsotakis had planned to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures when he met Sunak at 10 Downing St. on Tuesday. The two center-right leaders were also slated to talk about migration, climate change and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
British officials were annoyed that Mitsotakis had appeared on British television Sunday and compared the removal of the sculptures from Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half.
Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to talk publicly about the marbles during his three-day visit to Britain.
“The Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long-settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures,” he said. “Given those assurances were not adhered to, the prime minister felt it would not be productive” to have the meeting.
The Greek government denied Mitsotakis had agreed not to raise the subject in public.
Mitsotakis met Monday in London with U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, whose party leads Sunak’s governing Conservatives in opinion polls. The prime minister’s office denied that meting had contributed to Sunak’s decision to cancel.
Dimitris Tsiodras, head of the Greek prime minister’s press office, said Mitsotakis was angry at the “British misstep.”
“Of course he was angry ... Look, Greece is a proud country. It has a long history. Mitsotakis represents that country,” Tsiodras told private network Mega television.
Opposition parties in Greece, from the Greek Communist Party and centrists to far-right nationalists, also condemned Sunak for the cancellation. Left-wing opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis said the issue of the sculptures goes “beyond party differences.”
“It is a national issue that concerns the history of an entire people. And it is a moral issue concerning the shameless theft of cultural wealth from its natural setting,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Athens has long demanded the return of sculptures that were removed from Greece by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. Part of friezes that adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, the Elgin Marbles – as they are known in Britain -- have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than two centuries. The remainder of the friezes are in a purpose-built museum in Athens.
The British Museum is banned by law from giving the sculptures back to Greece, but its leaders have held talks with Greek officials about a compromise, such as a long-term loan.
Earlier this year, museum chairman George Osborne — Treasury chief in a previous Conservative U.K. government — said the discussions had been “constructive.”
Tsiodras said Tuesday that discussions “are ongoing with the British Museum for the return – I should say the reunification – of the marbles to Athens.”
“I don’t think the effort stops there,” he said. “Clearly, there are domestic reasons and 2024 is an election year and (Sunak) is quite behind in the polls ... but the discussion with the British Museum is ongoing.”
Sunak’s government appears to have hardened its position, however.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that “the government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum.”
And Blain said that “a loan cannot happen without the Greeks accepting that the British Museum are the legal owners” of the antiquities.
