He called them the Elgin Marbles in tribute to the Scottish diplomat who stole them, but London Mayor Sadiq Khan has resurrected an idea Greece had already rejected to agree to share the Parthenon Marbles with the British Museum. .
He called it a “win-win deal”, a term previously used to try to convince Greece not to claim ownership of marble created in Greece but kept in the British Museum for around 200 years, all attempts to recover them having failed.
“I really encourage the British Museum, the British government, the Greek government and the Acropolis Museum in Athens to discuss how we can make more progress on this issue,” Khan told Greek newspaper Ta. Nea.
“I obviously wish Londoners could see the Elgin Marbles, but I don’t see why the British Museum, the UK government, the Greek government and the Athens museum couldn’t come to an agreement to share these wonderful monuments. . , wonderful Elgin Marbles,” he said.
“It’s important for us to recognize that in reality not all the exhibits that are in the British Museum are the ones that should just stay in London,” he said, even though that’s exactly what museum officials, rejecting all calls to return marbles and other treasures stolen from countries during British colonial rule.
Khan told the newspaper that there should be room for a deal that benefits everyone involved, aiming for “a win for both Greece and the UK”, without explaining what that would mean as the Greece said it would not agree to the split.
He sticks to the line of his predecessors as mayors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, that the stolen marbles belong to the British, although he is prepared to share them.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in March Greece would never get the marbles back because they are a “huge asset” to Britons who have little else looted from other countries to display in the museum.
Read more on thenationalherald.com
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