The issue of the Parthenon Sculptures was reportedly raised during the 35-minute meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his British counterpart Keir Starmer in Downing Street.

According to the same information, Greece welcomes the fact that the British government expressed the position that it will not stand in the way as long as there is an agreement between the Greek side and the British Museum.

After all, their return is a constant request that Greece is discussing with the British Museum.

At the same time, a former adviser to the Greek government told the BBC that the two sides are “close” to an agreement on the return of the Parthenon Sculptures. In particular, as reported by a BBC report, Professor Irini Stamatoudi stated that “it seems that negotiations have progressed” for the relocation of the Elgin Marbles to Athens, which were taken from the Acropolis more than 200 years ago and are currently on display in the British Museum.

During their meeting, the two leaders also reviewed bilateral relations and they expressed the mutual will to strengthen cooperation. Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined the importance that Greece attaches to Greek-British relations and noted that the meeting is an opportunity to give them a new impetus.

The two leaders also discussed the coordination of the two countries in view of Greece’s term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council during the two years 2025-26, but also on Euro-British relations, the warming of which Greece supports, in particular in the fields of security and defence.

Also, they exchanged views on regional and international issues with an emphasis on the latest developments in Ukraine.

The was also put on the carpet Cypriot. The Greek Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction for the informal dinner of Messrs. Christodoulidis and Tatar under UN Secretary General António Guterres on October 15 in New York and stressed that he looks forward to the resumption of talks.

For its part, Downing Street says in its briefing note that Keir Starmer underlined the importance of the UK-Greece relationship and reiterated his ambition for closer cooperation with partners across Europe.

The leaders agreed that there are strong opportunities for growth for both countries in trade, investment, education and defense and look forward to strengthening this cooperation.

As for her illegal immigration, the Prime Ministers agreed to redouble joint action between the UK and Greece to address this shared challenge.

For the world conflicts, they both underlined their unwavering support for Ukraine and reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza to enable regional stability in the Middle East.

The British Prime Minister also welcomed the Greek Presidency of the UN Security Council next year as an opportunity to continue these important discussions.

The dialogue between the two leaders in detail:

Keir Starmer: I am very pleased to welcome you here to Downing Street to build on our strong bilateral relationship and talk about issues of common interest. We look forward to working with you at the UN in your new position starting in a few weeks from now. There is a great deal of convergence, so we can, I believe, build a lot on what we have already built, but also for the future. I warmly welcome you.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Glad to be here again, we have a lot to talk about. We are going through turbulent times and we really want to build on the very strong partnership that our two countries have forged over many years. We see the UK as an integral part of addressing the major security challenges we face, not only in Ukraine, but also in South East Europe and the Middle East. We’ll have a lot to talk about.

Keir Starmer: Very well. I look forward to the discussions we will have