To resolve the impasse, Blair’s adviser proposed that London and Athens sign a treaty governing a shared use of the Marbles between the two countries, she is reported to have written in a letter according to the UK’s National Archives.
Tony Blair’s Labor government lobbied the British Museum in 2003 to reach an agreement with Greece to share the Parthenon marbles, the Financial Times reports in their publication. In fact, the same publication states that the Blair government accused the British Museum of “intransigence”.
The article cites a letter from Downing Street adviser Sarah Hunter to Tony Blair published by the UK’s National Archives in which she said “there are good reasons to do so both privately and publicly to encourage the British Museum to end in agreement in the next 12 months”,.
The controversy over the return of the sculptures has raged for more than two centuriesthey mention the Financial Times.
“The Greek case has become more complicated – arguing for a loan instead of property restoration – and contradicts his intransigence [Βρετανικού Μουσείου] to consider any compromises“, he added.
The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak caused a diplomatic row in November when he ignored his Greek counterpart in the shadow of the so-called “Elgin Marbles”. Sunak expressed his displeasure at the comment made by the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before a scheduled meeting.
Mitsotakis is in long-term discussions with the president of the British Museum, George Osborne, about the possibility of a loan agreement. Kerr Starmer, leader of Britain’s opposition Labor Party, has said he will not stand in the way of such an agreement between Athens and the museum.
Osborne said on his Political Currency podcast on Thursday that the museum administrators and the government in Athens were “very ready for a deal”noting that the talks were continuing even if the prime minister was not speaking to his Greek counterpart.
In her letter, Tony Blair’s adviser wrote that the 2,500-year-old marbles could be one “strong bargaining chip” in the vote for the London 2012 Olympic bid, noting that it could help win the Greek vote and a “number of others.” But, he warned, “we should guard against other countries making similar requests.”
To resolve the impasse, he proposed that London and Athens sign a treaty that would be governed by an agreement to share the Marbles between the two countries.
In a handwritten note Blair wrote that he was in favor of establishing a channel of communication to convince the British Museum of the merits of such an arrangement.
He proposed that former foreign secretary David Owen be put in charge of the negotiationsas he had “influence”, but at the same time his choice would create a distance from the government.
Owen had written to the government in March 2003 arguing that negotiating a treaty with Athens for the loan of the Marbles would have “huge benefits”. It is not clear from the documents why this idea was ultimately rejected.
In October 2002, Costas Simitis, then Prime Minister of Greece, wrote to Blair proposing that the marbles be returned to Greece on long-term loan from the British Museum.
Source: Skai
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