Uproar in dispute over return of art treasures: Sunak loses Mitsotakis delivery man stopped attackers in Dublin – and receives donation of more than 350,000 euros

The dispute over the return of art treasures from the British Museum to Greece has led to a diplomatic scandal. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak quickly canceled a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis in London, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. British cabinet member Mark Haper indirectly confirmed that the culture conflict was the reason. The British government has repeatedly made its position clear on the ‘Elgin Marbles’, as the frieze pieces are called in Britain: They should remain part of the permanent collection of the British Museum, Harper told the BBC.

Mitsotakis responded angrily. He said Monday night that he was upset about the cancellation, which came just a few hours before the scheduled date. “Greece’s positions on the issue of the Parthenon sculptures are well known,” He wrote. “I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss these with my British counterpart, as well as the major challenges of the international situation: Gaza, Ukraine, the climate crisis, migration.”

Earlier, Mitsotakis had again strongly demanded that London return the frieze parts of the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens. It would be like dividing the ‘Mona Lisa’ and displaying one half in the Louvre in Paris and the other in the British Museum, the head of government told the BBC on Sunday.

The dispute over ownership of the antiquities has been going on for decades. The Parthenon Temple (“Virgin’s Chamber”) on the Acropolis is one of the most famous surviving architectural monuments of ancient Greece. In the early 19th century, British diplomat Lord Elgin had the best-preserved marble slabs and sculptures of the Parthenon Frieze dismantled and brought to England. There he sold it to the British Museum in 1816. (saw/sda/dpa)