Declassified letters reveal sculptures proposal

The Greek proposal for a "long-term loan" of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens in exchange for rotating exhibitions of Greek treasures is revealed in declassified letters between prime ministers at the time Costas Simitis of Greece and Britain's Tony Blair.

The proposal was included in Simitis' letter to Blair on October 21, 2002. A photocopy of the letter can be found in a file of documents recently declassified by the British government.

The discussions culminated in the awkward dialogue between the two men, captured on camera in Brussels in 2003, which is thought to have cost the Greek prime minister politically.