Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made an appeal for the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece during a meeting on Tuesday with his U.K. counterpart Theresa May in Downing Street.
Speaking to reporters, Tsipras said he raised the issue as the marbles’ natural place was with the Parthenon.
“The marbles belong to the world’s cultural heritage but their natural place is the Parthenon,” he told reporters.
Since independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly requested their return, without success.
Earlier in June, the leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party said he would return the Parthenon marbles to Athens if he is elected prime minister.
Tsipras said the meeting was held during an auspicious period for Greece after last week’s debt deal at the Eurogroup. Greece’s position, he stressed, is being constantly upgraded, economically and geopolitically.
For her part, May congratulated Tsipras over last week’s Eurogroup deal and the name agreement reached between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The two leaders also discussed the economy and the prospect of British investments in Greece.
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