Sunak stands up to Mitsotakis at the last minute, offended by the request for the return of the Parthenon Marbles

The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has canceled at the last minute the meeting that he had planned to hold in London this Tuesday with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after learning that the Greek leader is demanding the return of the friezes of the Parthenon in Athens and other Greek sculptures that are in the British Museum.

A spokesperson for Mitsotakis has conveyed to British television BBC his “disappointment” at the cancellation “at the last minute” of this meeting.. “Greece and the United Kingdom have a very deep history of friendship and cooperation. “The Greek Government is enormously surprised by this decision,” he highlighted.. Subsequently, the British Government itself has officially confirmed the annulment.

This moment of diplomatic tension comes after Mitsotakis declared in an interview with the BBC on Sunday that he believes the United Kingdom should return these reliefs because it is equivalent to “having the Mona Lisa cut in two.”. British media have highlighted that the Greek leader's words bothered Sunak.

The Elgin Marbles, as they are known in England, have been in the British Museum since they were stolen by the British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

“The prime minister wanted to address several issues of mutual interest such as the Israel-Gaza conflict, the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, climate change and common challenges such as migration and of course the Parthenon sculptures,” the Greek Government highlighted in a statement.

Sources from the Conservative Party have highlighted that it was “impossible” to hold this meeting after Mitsotakis' words. “Our position is clear: the Elgin Marbles are part of the permanent collection of the British Museum and belong there. “It is imprudent for any politician to suggest that negotiations can be made on this matter,” he added.. Mitsotakis has met Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer.

According to a spokesperson for Downing Street, the office of the head of the United Kingdom Government, Sunak considers that the London museum is the “appropriate site” to exhibit the valuable archaeological remains that the Athens Executive intends to recover.

Sunak's spokesman defended this Monday in statements to the media that the prime minister has no intention of changing the 1963 law that prohibits the disposal of museum objects and that he would not be in favor of an agreement for their loan.

Speculation about a new deal over the marbles grew recently after the president of the British Museum, George Osborne, indicated in a speech that avenues were being “explored” to display the historic remains in Greece.

Labor, on the other hand, has given indications that it would be willing to talk about an agreement that would allow a loan of the marbles to Greece.