NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has cancelled a scheduled meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis amid a diplomatic row over the status of the Parthenon sculptures.
The two leaders were due to hold talks on November 28 in the British capital. According to BBC, Mitsotakis had declined an offer to meet British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, as an alternative to his slated meeting with Sunak.
Greece and Britain have long argued over the Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, which were once part of the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens. However, for years they have been part of the permanent collection at London’s British Museum.
A British government official, who asked not to be named, said the row over the marbles meant it was not suitable for the meeting to go ahead, Reuters reported.
Earlier, a spokesperson for Sunak said there were no plans to return the sculptures.
However, Sunak’s office said Britain’s relationship with Greece was “hugely important” and the two countries needed to work together on global challenges like tackling illegal migration.
“I express my annoyance that the British Prime Minister cancelled our planned meeting just hours before it was due to take place,” Mitsotakis said in a statement.
“Greece’s positions on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures are well known. I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart. Anyone who believes in the rightness and justice of his positions is never afraid of confronting arguments,” he said.
The Greek government has been holding talks with British Museum chair George Osborne on a possible loan deal for the sculptures.
Mitsotakis complained in an interview with the BBC on November 26 that talks over a possible return of the sculptures to Athens were not advancing quickly enough.
He said that the continued presence of the sculptures in the British Museum was like cutting the “Mona Lisa in half” and it was not a question of ownership but “reunification”.
