British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceled his planned meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is visiting London, the ANA-MPA agency reported, quoted by BTA.
According to Greek government sources, the meeting was apparently canceled last night because of the position Mitsotakis expressed in an interview with the BBC on Sunday. In the interview, the Greek Prime Minister stated his intention to raise again the question of the return of the part of the marble friezes from the Parthenon, which is kept in the British Museum in London.
In a statement following Sunak’s decision, Mitsotakis said: “I express my disappointment that the British Prime Minister canceled our planned meeting a few hours before it was due to take place. Greece and the UK have traditional ties and the framework of our bilateral relationship is extremely broad . Greece’s positions on the issue of the Parthenon sculptures are known. I was hoping to have an opportunity to discuss them with my British colleague as well, along with the great challenges of the international situation: Gaza, Ukraine, the climate crisis, migration. Who believes in correctness and justice of his positions, he is never afraid of an exchange of arguments”.
Greek government sources described Sunak’s cancellation of the meeting as politically unacceptable. They recalled that in his interview, Mitsotakis did not say anything different from what he had said earlier, and besides, the topic concerned not the British government, but the British Museum, with which Greece is holding talks.
A Downing Street statement said: “The relationship between the UK and Greece is extremely important. From our cooperation in NATO and tackling common challenges such as illegal migration to working together to resolve the crisis in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. The Deputy Prime Minister was available to meet with the Greek Prime Minister to discuss these important topics.”
The sculptures from the ethnic temple of the goddess Athena, which are now in the British Museum, were removed from the Parthenon at the beginning of the 19th century by the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin, which is why they are often called the “Elgin Marbles”. In 1816, the British Parliament bought the reliefs from Elgin and gave them to the British Museum, where they are still today. Another part is in the Acropolis Museum. In 1983, Greece began a campaign to return the sculptures from London to Athens, and the issue has been a source of periodic tension in bilateral relations.
2023-11-28 06:51:24
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