“The Sculptures have to reunite in their entirety, as they are part of the monument, which stands and which in essence is the monument itself which requires the reunification, the reunification of the sculpture of the decoration”, emphasized the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoniin an interview he gave to the radio station “SKAI 100.3” and the journalist, Ari Portosalte.

“Now there is this positive climate, which is confirmed by both sides. But, as Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself said in a recent interview, it takes time and it is obvious that time is needed for such an agreement. However, it is positive that now the British government does not have the negativity of previous governments and the British Museum agrees that there is a good climate. This does not mean that tomorrow morning one can say that the Sculptures will return to Athens, they will be reunited. It still takes time and work.” And he emphasized that “the Sculptures must be reunited in their entirety, as they are part of the monument, which stands. In essence, it is the monument itself that requires the unification, the reunification of the sculpture of the decoration”, noted the minister.

At the same time, he added another dimension to the issue: “But, we must take into account that since there was an ice sheet where nothing was being done, it is positive that the two countries which are allies, which have many and very serious issues – this is all that the two Prime Ministers discussed to share with each other – that they are talking about this issue as well. They can and do talk. Don’t forget that since the 80s, after Melina’s request was made, there was an embargo between the Greek Ministry of Culture and the British Museum. This embargo has now been broken. There are agreements and exchanges of cultural goods between the Acropolis Museum, the British Museum, and other public museums, which is very positive. By keeping relationships frozen, you never achieve anything.”

Also, Lina Mendoni noted that after fifty years a lot has changed. “Don’t forget that since the 80s, after Melina’s request was submitted, there was an embargo between the Greek Ministry of Culture and the British Museum. This embargo has now been broken. There are agreements and exchanges of cultural goods between the Acropolis Museum, the British Museum, other public museums, which is very positive. By keeping relationships frozen, you never achieve anything.”

For the National Archaeological Museumthe Minister of Culture pointed out that “it is developing normally, and we are within the framework defined by the law with which we sanctioned the sponsorship, last May, of Spyros and Dorothy Latsis. The studies are currently being prepared. It is not one study, it is not two studies, it is a very complex project, but we are consistent in our schedules. Typically, according to the law, all of the studies – which are more than 100 – should be completed in the first five months of 2027. I believe that those studies will be completed earlier, which will allow us to start preliminary work.”