The British Museumwhich houses one of the most important historical heritage collections in the world, has confirmed for the first time contacts with the Greek authorities for the potential return of the looted marbles from the Parthenon, recurring object of political dispute since the 19th century.
Speculation about a possible imminent deal over the Elgin Marbles has been rampant in recent days. According to the Bloomberg agency, an exchange agreement would be almost closed by which Athens would recover the marbles in the framework of a cultural exchange that would facilitate the loan to London of other pieces.
Sources from the Greek Ministry of Culture have denied to the newspaper ‘Kathimerini’ that such an agreement exists, but what is already official is that there are contacts and that these progress in a “constructive” wayas the British Museum has revealed this Thursday in an unprecedented gesture.
“We have publicly said that we are actively seeking a new alliance on the Parthenon with our friends in Greece“, explained the British institution, which gives rise to a “new year” of talks between the two parties, according to ‘The Guardian’.
The Government of Greece always He has defended that he wants the permanent return of the heritage held by the British Museum, while the museum is inclined towards some kind of intermediate agreement. In fact, the United Kingdom Executive also stressed in December that it does not plan to reform the law that limits the perpetual restitution of works of art to very exceptional cases.
The Elgin Marbles are one of the main attractions of the British Museum, which also shows other pieces from ancient Greece and other historical cultures such as Egypt.