London, Thanasis Gavos
No differentiation in his positions British Museum regarding the prospect of standing reunion of the Parthenon Sculptures does not result from the invitation of the British Ministry of Culture to the corresponding Greek for a meeting regarding the Sculptures in the context created by the attempt of mediation of UNESCO.
SKAI’s question about the purpose of this meeting but also about whether the invitation signals acceptance by the Museum that British Government has finally spoken in the decisions for the Sculptures, a representative of the London foundation chose to answer as follows: “The British Museum can confirm that new talks with the Greek government have neither taken place nor are planned regarding the repatriation of the Sculptures of the Parthenon “.
This answer is in line with the Museum’s (and the British Government) firm position that solely responsible for the management of the Sculptures located in London are the institution’s administrative commissioners, acting independently of the government.
The same position had been repeated earlier by his representative British Ministry of Culture in a statement to SKAIalso stressing that “the United Kingdom has a long-standing position on this issue, which has not changed”, despite the invitation to the Greek Minister of Culture for dialogue.
The museum spokesman added that the foundation has always enjoyed a “positive and cooperative” relationship with UNESCO, as well as with colleagues from cultural institutions around the world, including the Acropolis Museum.
He reiterated that the British Museum “is always ready to consider applications for borrowing any items from the collection”.
The spokesman said that often the argument around the Sculptures is limited to a legal and competitive framework “instead of focusing on how we will share the sculptures with a wider world”.
He also stated that “the permanent collection of the London Museum reflects the huge story bow which had a lasting impact on the emergence of the modern world “
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