Greece rejects British Museum proposal for Parthenon Marbles return

ATHENS — The latest round of talks on the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens have stalled, as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has rejected the British Museum’s proposed arrangement.

Greece “cannot accept any arrangement that would require it to recognize the British Museum’s ownership of the [Parthenon] sculptures, or a scheme that would mean we ‘borrow’ parts of our own monument,” Mitsotakis wrote Thursday in an opinion piece published in the Guardian.

The sculptures are part of a 2,500-year-old frieze that was removed from the Acropolis in Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat and art aficionado Lord Elgin, who eventually sold them to the British government. At the time, Greece was under Ottoman occupation and the Acropolis was a military site with a Turkish garrison. Since then, they have been on display in the British Museum in London.

Mitsotakis expressed his “surprise” at the recent suggestion by British Museum Director Nicholas Cullinan that the French loan of the famed Bayeux Tapestry could serve as a template for the Parthenon Marbles. “I do not believe it does,” the Greek premier said.

“France has lent the artwork as an undivided whole, and that work will return to France as an undivided whole,” he said, referring to the 70-meter tapestry depicting the 1066 Norman Conquest currently on display at the British Museum after a landmark agreement with France.

“The Parthenon presents the reverse situation: integral parts of the monument were forcibly removed and dispersed. Our objective is their permanent reunification,” he added.

Mitsotakis dismissed a potential arrangement for the disputed sculptures to be temporarily loaned to the British Museum in exchange for other Ancient Greek masterpieces.

The Greek leader also recalled current UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s comments from 2023, calling for the sculptures to be sent back “no strings attached,” and “[using] culture to change how Britain is seen around the world.”

“I could not agree more,” Mitsotakis said.

However, since being elected, Burnham has retreated from that position, arguing that “ultimately it’s an issue for the British Museum.”

Campaigners have long called for the Marbles to return to Greece, and talks between the museum and Greek officials have been ongoing for years to discuss a potential loan arrangement.

Athens argues that they were removed illegally and wants them to be displayed alongside the rest of the Parthenon sculptures at a purpose-built museum in the Greek capital.

A 1963 law currently bans the British Museum from permanently handing back the Marbles to Greece — but it would not prohibit a loan.

A major diplomatic row erupted in 2021 when a meeting between Mitsotakis and former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was abruptly canceled at the last minute, after the Greek leader compared the removal of the sculptures from Athens to cutting Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” in half.

“What is needed now is the political will and courage to take the decisive step, to reunite the sculptures and transform a historic dispute into a unique act of cultural friendship,” Mitsotakis said on Thursday.

“The Museum’s position and openness to a deal is unchanged,” a British Museum spokesperson said. The U.K.’s Department for Culture declined to comment.