Diplomatic spat over Parthenon Marbles scuttles meeting of UK, Greek leaders
- Britain’s Sunak cancels meeting with Greek PM in row over Parthenon Marbles
- Greece has repeatedly asked the British Museum to return 2,500-year-old sculptures
A diplomatic spat erupted Monday between Greece and Britain after the UK cancelled a planned meeting of their prime ministers, prompting the Greek premier to accuse his British counterpart of trying to avoid discussing the contested Parthenon Marbles.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting London and had been expected to meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday.
He was due to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures from the British Museum.
Late Monday Mitsotakis issued a statement to “express my annoyance at the fact that the British prime minister has cancelled our planned meeting a few hours before it was due to take place”.
“Greece and Britain are linked by traditional bonds of friendship, and the scope of our bilateral relations is very broad,” Mitsotakis said. “Greece’s positions on the matter of the Parthenon Sculptures are well known.
