Amid Parthenon Dispute, Sunak Cancels Meeting
With Mitsotakis
After the prime minister of Greece called for the
British Museum to return the Parthenon marbles, his British counterpart
abruptly called off their meeting.
Alex
Marshall Mark Landler
By Alex
Marshall and Mark Landler
Reporting
from London
Nov. 27,
2023
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/27/arts/parthenon-marbles-prime-minister.html
For the
past two years, Greece’s government has conducted delicate negotiations with
the British Museum over the future of the Parthenon marbles, the ancient Greek
antiquities brought to Britain in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin.
Now,
Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, appears to be throwing cold water on
those discussions.
On Monday
evening, Mr. Sunak abruptly canceled a planned wide-ranging meeting with Prime
Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, which had been scheduled for Tuesday.
According to the BBC, the decision was made after Mr. Mitsotakis, appearing on
British television on Sunday, called for the marbles, which include statues of
Greek gods and carved frieze panels that once decorated the Parthenon, to be
returned to Athens.
Mr.
Mitsotakis said on the BBC television program that sculptures had been stolen
and needed to be reunified in Athens. “Where can you best appreciate what is
essentially one monument?” he said. The current situation, with the sculptures
split largely between the British Museum in London and the Acropolis Museum in
Athens, was unsatisfactory, he added, comparing it to cutting the Mona Lisa in
half and splitting it between two museums.
Mr.
Mitsotakis has made similar comments throughout his terms in office, and Mr.
Sunak has also repeatedly stated he would not change British law to allow the
sculptures, sometimes known as the Elgin Marbles, to leave the British Museum
permanently.
In a
statement, Mr. Mitsotakis said that he was dismayed that the meeting was
canceled. “Greece’s positions on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures are well
known,” he said in the news release. “I was hoping to have the opportunity to
discuss them with my British counterpart as well, along with the major
challenges of the international moment: Gaza, Ukraine, Climate crisis,
migration.”
Asked for
the reasons the meeting was canceled, a spokeswoman for Mr. Sunak’s office sent
a statement saying that the deputy prime minister was available to meet with
Mr. Mitsotakis.
A British
Museum spokeswoman said in an interview that the museum had no comment on Mr.
Sunak’s decision, but that constructive talks were ongoing.
For Mr.
Sunak, a diplomatic row with Greece is an unwelcome distraction at a time when
he is dealing with a stagnant economy and a rift in his Conservative Party over
immigration policy.
He had
generally cultivated friendlier relations with other European leaders since he
became prime minister last year. In February, he settled a standoff with the
European Union over the post-Brexit trade status of Northern Ireland.
But
Conservative politicians have long argued that the Parthenon sculptures are
part of the permanent collection of the British Museum and cannot simply be
returned to Greece, whatever their provenance.
On Monday
evening, Giorgos Gerapetritis, Greece’s foreign minister, said during a talk at
the London School of Economics that he did not think that disagreement over the
sculptures’ future was a “legitimate” reason to cancel a high-level meeting.
Alex
Marshall is a European culture reporter, based in London. More about Alex
Marshall
Mark
Landler is the London bureau chief. In three decades at The Times, he has been
bureau chief in Hong Kong and Frankfurt, White House correspondent, diplomatic
correspondent, European economic correspondent, and a business reporter in New
York. More about Mark Landler
Athens accuses British PM of disrespect to Greeks as
marbles row deepens
Kyriakos Mitsotakis expresses his ‘annoyance’ that
Rishi Sunak called off a meeting at late notice
BY NEKTARIA
STAMOULI
NOVEMBER
27, 2023 10:01 PM CET
https://www.politico.eu/article/greek-pm-slams-sunak-as-row-over-elgin-marbles-escalates/
ATHENS — A
Greek government spokesman on Tuesday called British Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak’s decision to cancel a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos
Mitsotakis “unprecedented” and “disrespectful.”
“It is not
something that is done,” Pavlos Marinakis told Skai TV and added that the move
was “not only disrespectful to the Greek prime minister but also to the Greek
people.”
Mitsotakis
lashed out at Sunak on Monday in what would appear to be a bitter escalation of
a long-running dispute over the Parthenon Marbles.
The two
were scheduled to meet Tuesday, but Sunak called off their meeting late Monday,
a move Greek government officials attribute to Mitsotakis’ recent strong
insistence upon the return of the ancient sculptures from the British Museum.
“I express
my annoyance that the British prime minister canceled our planned meeting just
hours before it was due to take place,” Mitsotakis said. Spokesperson Marinakis
added that, “We are assuming the obvious, that he was annoyed by comments
reiterating the country’s fixed position on the return of the Parthenon
Sculptures.”
“Anyone who
believes in the rightness and justice of his positions is never afraid of
confronting arguments,” Mitsotaks added on Monday, noting that Greece’s
position on the issue of the so-called Elgin Marbles was well known.
The marble
sculptures were removed from Athens by diplomat and art aficionado Lord Elgin
in the 19th century and have been housed in London since then.
Campaigners
— most famously the late singer and actress Melina Mercouri — have for years
called for their return to Greece, and talks between the museum and Greek
officials were held last year to discuss a potential loan arrangement. In
March, however, Sunak ruled out any change to current legislation that stops
the British Museum handing the marbles back to Greece permanently.
On
Saturday, the Financial Times said Mitsotakis would discuss the issue with U.K.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer who says he wouldn’t block a potential
agreement that would see parts of the sculptures loaned to Greece should he
become prime minister.
On Sunday,
Mitsotakis then bewailed the lack of progress on the issue in an interview with
the BBC.
The Greek
PM was uninvited to his meeting with Sunak around the time he met Starmer
Monday evening — with the Tories eager to suggest the Labour leader was soft on
the marbles.
A senior
Conservative told POLITICO’s London Playbook that, “Starmer sold out to secure
a meeting. It’s naive on his part and shows how little regard he has for
British taxpayers who have looked after these for generations. Starmer is up to
his old tricks of just telling the person in front of him what they want to
hear.”
An insider
close to the Starmer-Mitsotakis talks told Playbook the issue was “discussed,
but wasn’t the focal point of the meeting.” They added that Labour sees the
matter as one for the British Museum and the Greeks, not the U.K. government.
Downing
Street confirmed Sunak didn’t have any public-facing meetings on Tuesday and
that Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden was due to meet Mitsotakis. But rather
than accept the switcheroo, Mitsotakis declined to meet Dowden and left with a
stinging rebuke of the British government.
This
article has been updated.
Rosa Prince contributed reporting.
Rishi Sunak’s Greek tragedy
BY ROSA
PRINCE
NOVEMBER
28, 2023 8:00 AM CET
By ROSA
PRINCE
https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/rishi-sunaks-greek-tragedy/
RISHI LOSES
HIS MARBLES: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is at the center of a diplomatic storm
this morning after canceling a planned meeting with Greek counterpart Kyriakos
Mitsotakis in a spat over some cold, dead artworks. Playbook got a sniff of the
brewing row when No. 10 reached out to say the planned prime ministerial
tête-à-tête would instead feature Deputy PM Oliver Dowden, which seemed … odd,
given Mitsotakis had said on telly he was due to meet Sunak. An hour or so
later, the Greek PM announced he was cutting short his trip and heading home.
You say
Parthenon Sculptures, I say Elgin Marbles: The row was triggered after
Mitsotakis appeared on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, where he
was outspoken about his distress at many of the sculptures still present in the
British Museum. “It’s as if I told you that you would cut the Mona Lisa in half
and you would have half of it at the Louvre and half of it at the British
Museum,” he lamented, adding “this is exactly what happened with the Parthenon
Sculptures.”
All Greek
to me: Sunak is said to have been “irritated” by Mitsotakis’ words, so much so
that he took the extraordinary step of calling off their talks, due at 12.45
p.m. today, while the Greek leader was halfway through a three-day trip to
London. The Beeb’s Chris Mason quoted a “senior Conservative source” saying:
“It became impossible for this meeting to go ahead following commentary
regarding the Elgin Marbles prior to it.”
Undiplomatic:
Rather than accept the switcheroo, Mitsotakis declined to meet Dowden and
delivered a stinging rebuke: “I express my annoyance that the British prime
minister cancelled our planned meeting just hours before it was due to take
place. Anyone who believes in the rightness and justice of his positions is
never afraid of confronting arguments.” My colleague Nektaria Stamouli has a
write-up.
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(Ancient)
culture wars: The Greek PM was uninvited to tea with Rishi round about the time
he was meeting Keir Starmer Monday evening — with the Tories eager to suggest
the Labour leader was soft on the marbles. An insider close to the talks told
Playbook the issue was “discussed, but wasn’t the focal point of the meeting.”
They added that Labour sees the matter as one for the British Museum and the
Greeks, not the U.K. government.
Ouch: A
Labour spokesperson said of Sunak’s decision not to meet Mitsotakis: “If the
prime minister isn’t able to meet with a European ally with whom Britain has
important economic ties, this is further proof he isn’t able to provide the
serious economic leadership our country requires.”
But but
but: A senior Conservative highlighted recent reports, briefed out over the
weekend, that Starmer is “open” to the return of the marbles if an arrangement
can be agreed between the museum and the Greeks. They added: “Starmer sold out
to secure a meeting. It’s naive on his part and shows how little regard he has
for British taxpayers who have looked after these for generations. Starmer is
up to his old tricks of just telling the person in front of him what they want
to hear.”
Hitting
back: Labour said by pulling out of the meeting Sunak had missed an opportunity
to discuss illegal immigration with a key European ally. The insider added:
“Keir and the Greek PM discussed immigration in their meeting so you’ve got the
leader of the opposition as the U.K. voice on all these important issues.”
Hot takes:
Political X was divided, with some saying the government had massively messed
up with the mega snub to the Greeks, and others arguing Labour had walked into
a trap by appearing shaky over the marbles. A third and vocal group asked
whether all of the above is the grandaddy of dead cats designed to distract
from stuff the government really doesn’t want to talk about: we’re looking at
you, James Cleverly.
Playbook
won’t be falling for that one: The full story of the home secretary’s travails
follow.
But first
more on the marbles: The Parthenon Project, which is working with both sides to
try to find a joint solution that sees the sculpture reunified in Athens, said
it was disappointed by the sudden collapse in talks. A spokesperson said: “It’s
a shame the British prime minister feels he can’t discuss the subject of the
Elgin Marbles with the Greek prime minister, especially given how much both
countries stand to gain from a sensible resolution on this matter and the level
public support for reunification.”
Look away
now, Rishi Sunak: The Times leader column calls for the sculptures to be
reunited and displayed “in their natural habitat.”
Want to
know more about Mitsotakis? My POLITICO Colleague Anne McElvoy interviewed him
for her Power Play podcast last month.
And now
read this: Another top colleague, Graham Lanktree, wrote this fabulous POLITICO
feature back in May on the knotty geo-diplomacy of countries returning (or not
returning) stolen artefacts to their rightful place — focused on the famously
cursed Koh-i-Noor diamond which is part of the Crown Jewels.
What else
is in Sunak’s diary today? Not much, except the usual 9.30 a.m. Cabinet
meeting.
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