(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, JANUARY 9 - Greek government
spokesperson Yiannis Oikonomou on Monday told reporters that
talks on the Parthenon marbles between Athens and the British
Museum over the possible return to Greece of the famous
sculptures are "ongoing" but "not easy". "We have come a long
way, there have been steps forward and efforts are continuing;
the negotiations aren't easy", he said during a daily briefing
with reporters. Talks are "ongoing", the government spokesman
said, with the "objective of the permanent restitution" of the
2,500-year-old sculptures because Greece "doesn't recognize the
British Museum's ownership", clarified Oikonomou.
Athens says the sculptures that once adorned the façade of the temple of the Acropolis were taken when the country was under Ottoman occupation, while London says they were "legally bought" in 1802 by British diplomat Lord Elgin who then sold them to the British Museum. Over the past few days, British news outlets, in particular the Daily Telegraph, wrote about an imminent accord for the restitution of the statues as a "cultural exchange" and a "long-term loan" to allow the London museum to avoid a ban imposed by a British law to dismantle its collection.(ANSAmed).
Athens says the sculptures that once adorned the façade of the temple of the Acropolis were taken when the country was under Ottoman occupation, while London says they were "legally bought" in 1802 by British diplomat Lord Elgin who then sold them to the British Museum. Over the past few days, British news outlets, in particular the Daily Telegraph, wrote about an imminent accord for the restitution of the statues as a "cultural exchange" and a "long-term loan" to allow the London museum to avoid a ban imposed by a British law to dismantle its collection.(ANSAmed).
