ATHENS: Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday (Jan 25) repeated requires the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens from the British Museum, months after a diplomatic spat with Britain over the two,500-year-old items.
In his first public assertion on the difficulty since November, Mitsotakis stated his authorities has been in talks with the Chair of the British Museum a couple of deal to convey them again to the Acropolis Museum within the coronary heart of the Greek capital.
“Let me be clear, we are going to insist on their reunification for a lot of causes. However one, in my thoughts, is a very powerful: Solely by being seen collectively, in situ, within the shadow of the Acropolis, can we really respect their immense cultural significance.”
Athens has repeatedly referred to as on the British Museum to completely return the two,500-year-old sculptures – recognized in Britain because the Elgin Marbles – that British diplomat Lord Elgin faraway from the Parthenon temple in 1806, throughout a interval when Greece was underneath Ottoman Turkish rule.
About half of the 160-metre frieze that adorned the Parthenon in Athens is within the British Museum, whereas 50 metres of the carvings are within the Acropolis Museum.
In November, throughout an interview with the BBC in London, Mitsotakis in contrast the separation of the sculptures to chopping the Mona Lisa in half, a characterisation rejected by the British authorities.
