Greek PM slams Sunak as row over Elgin Marbles escalates

ATHENS — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lashed out at his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Monday in what would seem like a bitter escalation of a long-running dispute over the Parthenon Marbles.

The 2 had been scheduled to fulfill on Tuesday, however Sunak referred to as off their assembly late on Monday, a transfer Greek authorities officers attribute to Mitsotakis’ latest robust insistence upon the return of the traditional sculptures from the British Museum.

“I categorical my annoyance that the British prime minister cancelled our deliberate assembly simply hours earlier than it was as a consequence of happen,” Mitsotakis mentioned.

“Anybody who believes within the rightness and justice of his positions isn’t afraid of confronting arguments,” he added, noting that Greece’s place on the problem of the so-called Elgin Marbles was well-known.

The marble sculptures had been faraway from Athens by diplomat and artwork aficionado Lord Elgin within the nineteenth century and have been housed in London since then.

Campaigners — most famously the late singer and actress Melina Mercouri — have for years referred to as for his or her return to Greece, and talks between the museum and Greek officers had been held final yr to debate a possible mortgage association. In March, nonetheless, Sunak dominated out any change to present laws that stops the British Museum handing the marbles again to Greece completely.

On Saturday, the Monetary Instances mentioned Mitsotakis would focus on the problem with U.Ok. Labour Social gathering chief Keir Starmer who says he wouldn’t block a possible settlement that will see elements of the sculptures loaned to Greece ought to he develop into prime minister.

On Sunday, Mitsotakis bewailed the dearth of progress on the problem in an interview with the BBC.

The cancellation got here after Mitsotakis’ assembly wth Starmer. Downing Road confirmed Sunak didn’t have any public-facing conferences on Tuesday and that Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden was as a consequence of meet Mitsotakis.

Greek authorities officers mentioned Mitsotakis denied he would maintain a gathering with Dowden.

“Clearly we’ll proceed pushing on the problem and our foremost interlocutor on the problem is the British Museum,” a Greek authorities official mentioned.