London rules out return of Parthenon friezes to Greece

At the Acropolis Museum, a space left empty still awaits the return of the Parthenon sculpture.

(Photo: Reuters)

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1 min

It is a thorny issue at the heart of tensions between London and Athens: Greece is trying to obtain from the United Kingdom the return of friezes from the Parthenon, exhibited at the British Museum.

The discussions have been going on for years, but the latest words from the British Minister of Culture leave the Greeks pessimistic.

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The president of the British Museum “ 

, ”hammered Michele Donelan on the BBC.

Last week, however, the

newspaper raised the hopes of the Greeks by revealing that George Osborne, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and current director of the London museum, was in the process of concluding an agreement for a long-term loan in as part of a "cultural exchange".

The British Museum is prohibited by law from dismantling its collection.

London claims that

detached from the Parthenon and one of the famous caryatids from a small ancient temple on the Acropolis were "

 " in 1802 by a British diplomat who sold them to the British Museum.

But Greece maintains that they were the object of "

 " while the country was under Ottoman occupation. 

The British minister does not hide that she fears that the return of these frescoes will open " 

 " and oblige the United Kingdom to return other works purchased or looted around the world.

The Greeks themselves will continue the discussions: at the Acropolis Museum, a space left empty is still waiting for the return of the Parthenon sculpture. 

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