The “sensitive” talks between the chairman of the board of directors, George Osborne, and the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, are “at an advanced stage”, the Greek daily “Ta Nea” reported on Saturday.
According to “Ta Nea,” the secret talks about the marble tablets began in November 2021. Both sides spoke in London this week. However, Athens representatives had warned that negotiations could stall at the last minute.
“A mutually beneficial solution” is possible, the ANA-MPA news agency quoted Mitsotakis as saying. “The Parthenon sculptures can be reunited while the concerns of the British Museum are allayed.” He consciously speaks of a “reunion of the sculptures and not of a return”.
The British Museum said on Saturday it wanted “a new Parthenon partnership with Greece” and was willing to discuss it with Athens. But “we act within the law and we are not going to dismantle our beautiful collection,” the museum said.
The sculptures are also referred to as “Elgin Marbles”. In the early 19th century, Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, ordered the frieze removed from the Parthenon temple on the Athenian Acropolis by workers. Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, who donated them to the British Museum in 1817. There they are among the most valuable exhibits.
Athens, on the other hand, considers the marbles stolen. In addition to the return of the 75-meter frieze, Greece is also demanding a female statue from the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis.
Several Greek governments have made no significant progress in the dispute over the parts of the frieze. London believes the sculptures were obtained legally.
(SDA)