Advanced “secret talks” between London and Athens regarding the Parthenon marbles.. What is the relationship of the Ottomans to that?

The Greek daily "Ta Nea" reported - today, Saturday - that the British Museum "British Museum" and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had reached an "advanced stage" of "secret talks" regarding a "possible return" of the Parthenon Marbles.

The ancient sculptures (also known as the Elgin Marbles) were taken from the Parthenon Temple in Athens at the beginning of the 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin, and have been kept by the British Museum since then, and Greece wants them back.

And the newspaper "Ta Nya" reported that the behind-the-scenes talks between the head of the British Museum, George Osborne, and Mitsotakis "began in London in November 2021."

She stated that the recent discussions took place in a hotel in the British capital - this week - while Mitsotakis was visiting London to promote the interests of Greek business.

She noted that the "sensitive" negotiations between Osborne - the former British finance minister - and the Greek leader were at an "advanced stage", but Greek officials warned that a "dead end" could still be reached.

And last Monday, Mitsotakis was quoted by the ANA-MPA news agency as saying, "We may reach a mutually acceptable solution. The Parthenon sculptures can be returned, and at the same time the concerns of the British Museum are taken into account."

And the British Museum issued a statement - today, Saturday - saying that it wanted "a new partnership with Greece on the Parthenon," and that it was ready to talk to Athens about it.

Pieces from the "Parthenon Marble" or "Elgin Marble" collection in the British Museum (Al Jazeera)

But he stressed that he works "within the law and we will not dismember our great group, because it tells a unique story of our common humanity."

The Parthenon on the Acropolis (an ancient Greek temple on top of a hill in Athens) was built in the 5th century BC to honor Athena (goddess of wisdom, strength, war and protector of the city).

At the beginning of the 19th century, workers removed entire marble from the monument, on the orders of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin.

Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which in 1817 transferred them to the British Museum.

For her part, Athena insists the sculptures were stolen.

Successive Greek governments have failed to make significant progress in this file.

Elgin Marbles (Parthenon)

The Parthenon Marbles (according to the Greek designation) or the Elgin Marbles (according to the British definition) are a group of Greek marble sculptures that were made by the architect and sculptor Phidias, who lived in the fifth century BC, and these sculptures were part of the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis in Athens.

The point of contention between the Greeks and the British revolves around the way these marble pieces were transferred from Greece to the United Kingdom, at the beginning of the 19th century by Lord Elgin, the hero of all this conflict who was a diplomat and British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1799 when Greece was under the authority of the Ottomans, according to In the British version, Elgin obtained a firman (permit) from the Ottoman Empire allowing him to excavate for antiquities.

The "Parthenon Marble" or "Elgin Marble" pieces were the title of an escalating crisis between Greece and Britain (Al-Jazeera)

On the other hand, Greece confirms that what the British Lord did was merely a fraud and a claim that he had approval from the Ottoman authorities, and that after going through a financial crisis he had to hand over these statues to the British government, in exchange for paying the debts he owed, after which the government transferred these antiquities to the British Museum For display after the passage of an Act of the British Parliament, the Act 1816 known as the "Elgin Archaeological Collection" Act.

Greece is calling on Britain to show the document according to which Elgin obtained the right to excavate antiquities in Greece, a document that has not yet appeared. Athens relies on international law, which says that the right of ownership of statues remains for more than 2,500 years, meaning that it must return to the Greeks.

Former British decisiveness and Greek anger

In a previous exclusive statement to Al Jazeera Net, the British Museum tried to approach the dispute with Greece in a diplomatic way, but it shows the museum's clinging to these artifacts, and the museum affirms that this collection "is a unique source for exploring the richness, diversity and complexity of all human history and our common humanity. The strength of the collection lies in its breadth and depth , allowing millions of visitors to understand the world's cultures and how they are interconnected, whether through trade, migration, conquest, conflict or peaceful exchange."

The museum believes that the Parthenon sculptures are "an integral part and a vital element of the interconnected global collection" owned by the museum, which affirms its keenness to "share this collection with the largest possible number of the public, and we try to make it available to everyone across the world."

The museum stresses its commitment "wholeheartedly to respectful cooperation all over the world, to share and lend the collection, and to work in partnership for the benefit of the widest possible audience in recent years," as if it was a message to the Greeks that the museum does not have a monopoly on these artifacts and opens the door to lending them, but while keeping It is owned by Britain, and the museum states that it has previously lent artifacts to the Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum, and the Cycladic Art Museum in Athens.

While the diplomacy of the British Museum differs from the strict tone that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously spoke to the Greek newspaper "Ta Nea", as he stressed - at the time - that he understood the feelings of the Greek people, as well as the position of the Greek Prime Minister, "Britain has a position long and strict about these marbles that we obtained through legal means and these sculptures were delivered to the British Museum, according to the laws in force,” which means that the former British Prime Minister closed the door completely on this issue.

But the legal methods that Johnson spoke about are nothing but "theft", according to the Greek Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, accusing Lord Elgin of being "a serial thief who used illegal techniques to obtain these antiquities."

And in defiant language, the Greek Minister of Culture said, last year, that she was ready to provide all documents and evidence that these artifacts belong to Greece, and that the methods of transporting them were not correct.