Greece’s Culture Ministry announced plans Wednesday for a major renovation of the National Archaeological Museum, expanding exhibition space at the Athens site that houses what is considered the most important collection of Greek antiquities in the world.
According to the report, the Greek PM and the British Museum chair have been discussing a loan arrangement for the Parthenon Marbles since 2021.
"There is communication. There are contacts, as I wrote recently. A negotiation is very difficult, but it is not impossible," she continued.
Reports of the deal caused a furore in Greece, as such a deal would have meant that Greece recognizesthat the British Museum is the rightful owner of the sculptures stolen by Lord Elgin from the Acropolis in the early 19th century.
Mitsotakis concluded his speech by thanking all those involved in creating the new museum, especially the archaeologist Aggeliki Kottaridi, who has devoted her life to the project.
The three fragments are originally from three different sections of the Parthenon - the west pediment, the north frieze and a south metope - and were likely to have been detached when the Venetian general Morosini ordered the bombardment of the Ottoman-occupied Acropolis fortifications in 1687.
