The issue of the Parthenon Marbles is expected to be raised by Greece’s PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis when he meets his UK counterpart Sir Keir Starmer in London on Tuesday.
The potential return of the Parthenon Sculptures has been the subject of what Britain’s Sky News described as “private meetings.”
According to the report on Monday, a senior UK government source revealed that Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis held up to three private discussions with British Museum trustees and its chair, George Osborne, about the possible repatriation of the 2,500-year-old sculptures this year.
This follows the cancellation of a meeting between Mitsotakis and former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2023. Sunak had maintained that the collection should remain in the British Museum.
In contrast, Starmer is believed to be more open to the idea of returning the sculptures. A source close to Starmer was quoted in the Financial Times, stating: “We are open to whatever is agreed. It’s right to say there is no strong view on what should happen.”
Parthenon Marbles removed illegally
The antiquities were removed in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, Britain’s ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece at the time. Greece has long advocated for their repatriation.
The British Museum asserts that Lord Elgin acquired the sculptures legally, claiming he obtained an imperial edict, or “firman,” from Ottoman authorities allowing for their removal.
However, the representative of Turkey at UNESCO eroded the British argument, saying that such a document has not been found.
Speaking at the 24th Session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Return of Cultural Property to the Countries of Origin (ICPRCP), Zeynep Boz, Head of the Anti-Smuggling Department in Turkey, stated: “It is not to our knowledge the existence of a document that legitimizes the purchase.”
She was referring to the Ottoman document cited by Britain for the purchase of the Parthenon Marbles in 1816 from Lord Elgin.
“We are not aware of the existence of a document that legitimizes this purchase, which was then made by the British colonialists, so I do not think there is any room to discuss its legality,” stated Boz.
“There is no firman, only an Italian text referred to as a translation of the firman, but without the original document, we cannot authenticate it,” she said.
The British Museum Act 1963 prevents treasures from being legally given away by the British Museum. Meanwhile, the Department of Media Culture and Sport says it has “no plans to change existing government policy on restitution” and that it is up to the trustees of the museum to decide.
Official agenda of the Starmer – Mitsotakis meeting
On Tuesday, the Greek PM Mitsotakis will meet for the first time with his British counterpart, Sir Keir Starmer, on Downing Street. This comes “at a critical geopolitical juncture for the West and amid escalation on the Ukraine front,” it was said in a statement.
According to government sources, this meeting will be a good opportunity to upgrade bilateral relations at all levels. Among other things, emphasis is expected to be placed on the sectors of shipping, research, innovation and tourism. It is worth noting that the United Kingdom is the second most important tourist market for Greece.
High on the agenda of the two leaders will also be migration. This is an issue that is increasingly of concern for the United Kingdom, as migration flows rise on a daily basis, and Greece is internationally recognized as having managed to deal with the crisis effectively, particularly with regard to the guarding and protection of its borders.
The topics of discussion also include the closer international cooperation of the United Kingdom with Greece, as it will take on another dimension starting at the beginning of next year. Our country for the two-year period of 2025 to 2026 will be one of the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, while the United Kingdom is one of five permanent members. Thus, the two states, together with the other members, will have to decide during this time, based on international law, on a series of issues that mainly concern global peace and security.
Starmer and Mitsotakis will also discuss issues of regional and international interest, with an emphasis on the latest developments in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as future UK-EU relations.
The new government in London has stated from the outset that it would like to put the country at the center of European cooperation, “building closer ties with the continent,” as Sir Keir Starmer has often emphasized. In this context, the two leaders are expected to examine ways in which Greece could contribute to improving European Union-UK relations.
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