Parthenon Row: Sunak Cancels Meeting with Greek PM

Facts

• Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday voiced his ‘annoyance’ at his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak’s last-minute cancellation of a meeting to discuss the future of the Parthenon Marbles — Greek sculptures exhibited at the British Museum that Athens has long sought be repatriated.¹
• Sunak’s spokesman said that it would ‘not be productive’ to hold the talks, claiming Greece had broken the promise not to use Mitsotakis’ UK visit to publicly relitigate the matter. This comes after Mitsotakis described the artifacts as ‘essentially stolen’ in a BBC interview on Sunday.²
• The sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were allegedly taken from the 2.5K-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the 19th century. The marbles have been on display in the British Museum for over two centuries.³
• Greece has asked that about 250-feet of the frieze be returned to the country on a long-term loan in exchange for Greek museums sending a rotating selection of artifacts to the British Museum. The British Museum has countered with an offer for shorter-term loans of less of the marbles.⁴
• Meanwhile, the Greek government has denied that there was any agreement not to raise the marbles’ status in public, adding that Mitsotakis had hoped to discuss issues, including the Russia-Ukraine War and climate change, with Sunak.⁵
• However, Sunak has defended canceling his meeting with Mitsotakis, stating it was ‘not to discuss substantive issues for the future’ but ‘rather to grandstand’ over the Parthenon Sculptures.⁶

Sources: ¹The Guardian, ²BBC News (a), ³Associated Press, ⁴The New York Times, ⁵CNN and ⁶BBC News (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by BBC News. The position of the UK regarding the status of the marbles has always been crystal-clear: any agreement to loan the sculptures out will be between Greece and the British Museum alone. Sunak had every right to cancel his meeting with his Greek counterpart over his flagrant disregard for this status quo, instead insisting on stirring up nationalist tensions to score cheap points against the British.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by INews. The Parthenon Marbles are an indelible part of Greece’s cultural heritage and must be returned with due haste. The marbles were lifted from Greece thanks to an agreement with the occupying Ottoman Empire, with the arrangement never reflecting the will of the Greek people. Most Brits themselves believe the marbles should be returned to Greece, with a potential repatriation being the ultimate testament to the historically strong relationship between Greece and the UK.

Predictions