UK working on new deal with Greece through which Sculptures of the Parthenon they could be exhibited both in London and in Athens, This was stated on Thursday by the President of the British Museum, George Osborne.describing the event as a win-win situation.

However, George Osborne appears. that he would, in effect, rule out a full return of the Sculptors, as that, he said, would require a change in British law, which he does not have the authority to do.

Osborne, the former UK finance minister, confirmed that the museum had been in constructive talks with the Greek government over the sculptures, which had been a source of contention between the two European countries for centuries.

“This is a very difficult problem to solve,” he told BBC radio. “But I think there is a way that these sculptures, the Elgin marbles, the Parthenon sculptures, could be exhibited both in London and in Athens, and this would be mutually beneficial for Greece and for us.”

When asked if this meant borrowing, he replied: “We are talking with the Greek government about this, about a new agreement, and what I did not want to do was force the Greeks to accept things which they consider impossible, and accordingly they cannot force upon us what we would consider impossible.”

The Greek government has said it is negotiating the repatriation of the Gliptons, which were removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin from the imposing Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th century.

However, Osborne ruled out a scenario in which the Sculptures could be transferred permanently, stating that this would require a change in British law.

“If we wanted to send back all the Elgin marbles, then that would require an Act of Parliament, and that would be out of my control,” he said. “But what a museum can do is try to forge a new relationship with Greece,” he concluded: “I’m pretty optimistic.”

Source: Reuters.