British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in London on Tuesday amid a renewed push by Athens for the return of marble statues that once stood in the Parthenon.
Greek Prime Minister spoke of very strong, historical relations between Greece and Great Britain, in a brief dialogue with British PM upon his arrival at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday.
The Greek premier called Johnson a true Philhellene, and Johnson thanked him for his leading stance at the COP26 climate change.
The Greek government said Mitsotakis planned to raise the issue of the sculptures, which were removed from the ancient temple in Athens more than 200 years ago and are held in the British Museum.
The marbles — 17 figures and part of a frieze that decorated the 2,500-year-old Acropolis monument — were taken by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century.
