Greek Prime Minister ’embarrassed’ by cancellation of meeting with British PM over British Museum sculpture

2023.11.29 Wed posted at 18:00 JST

（ＣＮＮ） British Prime Minister Sunak canceled a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis at the last minute over comments he made on television about the Elgin Marbles, a group of sculptures from Greece’s Parthenon housed in the British Museum. . In response, Mitsotakis said he was “perplexed.”

Mitsotakis has been visiting the UK since last weekend. A meeting with Sunak scheduled for the 28th was suddenly canceled.

Mitsotakis said in a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on the 27th: “I am perplexed that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom canceled a scheduled meeting just hours before.” He added that he believed “Greece and the United Kingdom have a traditional relationship of friendship” and that Greece’s position regarding the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum was “well known”.

He added, “If you are convinced that your views are correct and fair, you will not be afraid of opposing views.”

The Elgin Marbles are a collection of sculptures brought back from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century. Greece has repeatedly asked for its return.

Mitsotakis said in an interview with the BBC on the 27th that the sculptures were “essentially stolen” and that the Greek government would continue to lobby for an agreement and work towards a “partnership” with Britain. did.

“This is not a question of returning art whose ownership is questionable. We believe that the sculptures belong to Greece and were, in essence, stolen.”

“The point of discussion is to bring back what has been divided into one, and where is the place where the true value of a work of art, which is originally a single building, can be felt to the greatest extent.If you cut the famous painting Mona Lisa in half, one side will go to the Louvre Museum. “It would be like asking people to imagine placing the other one in the British Museum.”

A spokesman for Mr Sunak said at a press conference on the 28th that the Greek government had promised in advance not to use the visit as a platform to publicly raise the issue of ownership of the Elgin Marbles. He explained that the talks were called off because that promise had been broken.

However, Greek government officials insisted on Wednesday that they had not promised not to raise the issue publicly.

Greece’s Prime Minister’s Office said Mitsotakis wanted to meet with Sunak to discuss a wide range of topics, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the military conflict between Israel and Hamas, and climate change.

Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis on Monday condemned the move to cancel the talks, calling it “a lack of respect.” The country’s opposition parties, the Union of Radical Leftists (SYRIZA) and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), also called the decision to cancel “disrespectful” and “unacceptable,” recognizing the sculptures as a “matter of national interest.” showed that.

The Prime Minister’s Office described the relationship between the two countries as “extremely important” and said Deputy Prime Minister Dowden would be available for talks with Mr Mitsotakis. Mitsotakis is already on his way home. A Greek official told CNN that he had decided not to meet with Dowden.