British PM refuses to meet Greek PM

British PM refuses to meet Greek PM

Visitors to the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens at the British Museum, London.On November 27, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the temporary cancellation of a scheduled meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, accusing his counterpart of openly discussing the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures. The British Museum's collection of Parthenon sculptures was acquired by British diplomats in the early 19th century by cutting them from the site of the temple, and accounts for about 50 percent of all the surviving sculptures. The Greek government has been demanding the return of the sculptures from the UK since 1983, but the British government has refused to return the sculptures, insisting that they were legally acquired.