UK’s Starmer welcomes Greek leader for talks but says Parthenon Marbles are not on the agenda

Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Greece’s prime minister is in London on for his first top-level U.K. meeting since a spat last year over the contested Parthenon Marbles. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Kyriakos Mitsotakis to 10 Downing St. Tuesday for talks focused on migration, the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Starmer’s office said the fate of the marbles was not on the British leader’s agenda. The marbles are part of a 2,500-year-old frieze that was taken from Athens in the early 19th century. They are on display in the British Museum, but Athens wants them returned. The British Museum is banned by law from giving them back, but extensive talks have been held on a long-term loan.