A few days ago in London – where he attended an LSE event – the Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis had a “secret meeting” with the president of the British Museum, George Osborne, about the Parthenon Sculptures.

Mr Gerapetritis participated on Monday in an event of the Greek Observatory of the LSE on the subject of foreign policy, at the time when the cancellation of the meeting of Prime Ministers Sunak-Mitsotakis.

A few hours after the meeting with Osborne, speaking at the event, G. Gerapetritis stated that “it is time to find a proper solution to bring the Sculptures back to Athens” and that “we must downgrade the issue of ownership”.

“I clearly think that we can find a viable solution within the limits of British law and yet recognize the fact that we have a different concept of ownership,” said the Greek Foreign Minister, agreeing with SKAI’s correspondent in London, Thanasis Gavos.

It is noted that speaking on Thursday in the podcast ‘Political Currency’ which he co-presents, Mr. Osborne identified the chances of an agreement with the Greek government in “50:50».

See in detail the statements of G. Gerapetritis in the video:

5’53” Over the past four years we have made significant progress in discussions with the British Museum. We have had a very constructive series of discussions with the British Museum and George Osborne, the chairman of the board of trustees. There are certain restrictions, legal restrictions. The British law prohibits the transfer of the sculptures, on the other hand I think it is time to find a proper solution to bring the Sculptures back to Athens, at the Acropolis Museum. We could do this through a wider partnership between the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum, which would involve not only the exchange of artefacts and the return of the Parthenon Sculptures but also cultural activities…

9’40” We need to downplay the issue of ownership. We know we have a completely different starting point on this, so we have to accept each other’s position, keep it in a sphere of ambiguity, and then move on to other arrangements. I clearly think that we can find a viable solution within the limits of British law and yet recognize the fact that we have a different conception of ownership.

11’13” [Στο ερώτημα του καθηγητή Φέδερστοουν αν μια λύση θα αφορούσε επιστροφή των Γλυπτών για ορισμένο χρονικό διάστημα] – I think there are delicate balances that need to be adjusted. To be perfectly honest we are still a long way from a complete agreement, so we have not specified this. I’m relatively optimistic.