Mitsotakis to raise return of Parthenon Marbles in talks with Johnson, proposes loan of Greek treasures

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has once again issued a call for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to Athens, so that they may be displayed at the Acropolis Museum at the foot of the Acropolis, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph published yesterday.

Mitsotakis, who is to meet with British PM Boris Johnson on 16 November, said that he seeks to negotiate a deal that would include a loan of major Greek antiquities that have never left the country, but has avoided offering details.

Stressing that the unmatched treasures were in fact stolen by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, Mitsotakis underlined that the British Government's stance could have a decisive role in determining any decision by the trustees of the British Museum.

Johnson has in the past categorically ruled out a return of the Marbles, maintaining that they were acquired legally.

"Our position is very clear. The marbles were stolen in the 19th century; they belong in the Acropolis Museum and we need to discuss this issue in earnest," Mitsotakis told the Daily Telegraph.

"I am sure that if there was a willingness on the part of the government to move we could find an arrangement with the British Museum in terms of us sending abroad cultural treasures on loan, which have never left the country," he said.

"Refusing to discuss the topic seems to me, given the context of everything that has been happening in terms of the return of cultural treasures, to be rather an anachronistic approach," he added.

Mitsotakis' remarks at UNESCO

Addressing the 75th anniversary UNESCO conference in Paris yesterday, Mitsotakis referred at length to the need for the Parthenon Marbles to return to their home in...