Greece buoyed by Turkish official’s comments on Parthenon Sculptures taken by Britain

One of the world's most intractable cultural disputes is back in the spotlight after a Turkish official cast doubt on the existence of proof long cited by Britain that it had legally acquired the Parthenon Marbles , 2,500-year-old sculptures taken from the Acropolis in Athens.

Greece's culture minister said the comments made at a UNESCO meeting in Paris last week on the return of cultural property bolster Greece's argument that the sculptures were illegally removed from the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis and should be returned.

The antiquities, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were removed in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, Britain's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire which ruled Greece at the time, and are housed in the British Museum in London. Greece has long campaigned for their return.

The museum maintains Elgin removed the sculptures legally after...