[1/4]An employee looks at an example of Parthenon sculpture (also known as the Elgin Marbles in the UK) on display at the British Museum in London, England, on January 25, 2023.Reuters/Toby Melville/File Photo Obtaining license rights
LONDON/ATHENS, Nov 28 (Reuters) – The dispute between Britain and Greece over ownership of the Parthenon sculptures, known as the Elgin Marbles, escalated on Tuesday, leading to the cancellation of a planned meeting between the two leaders. He claimed that it was the other party’s fault. .
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceled Tuesday’s meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which should not be used as a public forum for the two countries to “reexamine issues that have long been resolved.” This comes after the prime minister announced that they had agreed in advance.
“It simply means that if guarantees are given and they are not complied with, there will be consequences,” a spokesman for Mr Sunak told reporters.
A senior Greek government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied the statement as “inaccurate”.
Greece has repeatedly called on the British Museum to permanently return the 2,500-year-old sculptures removed from the Parthenon by British diplomat Lord Elgin in 1806 during Ottoman rule.
About half of the 160 meters long frieze that adorns the temple is in London, and the remaining 50 meters is in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The layout of its top floor imitates the Parthenon.
Appearing on the BBC over the weekend, Mitsotakis likened separating the sculpture to cutting the Mona Lisa in half, a characterization rejected by the British government.
Aristotelia Peroni, Mitsotakis’ international policy adviser, said: “The prime minister did not make any new statements. Greece’s position on the Parthenon sculpture issue is well known.” “Just because we disagree on a particular issue doesn’t mean we can’t have a discussion.”
Both Britain and Greece said the conflict had jeopardized the opportunity to discuss global issues such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and the climate crisis. The two leaders would also have discussed the UK-Greece Migration Action Plan.
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis called the cancellation an unprecedented and disrespectful act, but added that Athens did not want to spoil the good relations between the two countries with a spat with Sunak.
plot twist
Mr Sunak’s decision to cancel the talks was also criticized by some of Britain’s opposition parties and campaign groups backed by British politicians from all parties seeking to resolve the issue.
Greece does not recognize the British Museum as the owner of the sculpture.
The group, the Parthenon Project, is proposing an agreement that would reintegrate the sculptures into Athens without the need for Britain and Greece to agree on who would own them.
Former Tory culture minister Ed Vaisey, who serves as an adviser to the group, said Mr Sunak’s move was a “plot” given the UK’s previous position that resolving the issue was the British Museum’s own problem. Stated.
“The Prime Minister put himself front and center in the queue when he really didn’t need to be front and center,” Mr Vaisey told Sky News. “I don’t think it was necessary for the prime minister to intervene in this way, and I don’t think it particularly benefited relations with Greece.”
The British government has long cited laws that prevent the British Museum from disposing of its collections in most circumstances.
Asked whether the government was concerned that other countries might seek their return if an agreement was reached to return the marbles, Mr Sunak’s spokesman said: “We believe this could be a slippery slope.” “And we do not support that.”
Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou.Editing: Bernadette Baum, William MacLean, Sharon Singleton
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