A publication in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica states that “Greece and Britain have never been so close to an agreement on the Parthenon sculptures.”

Referring to an article in the British newspaper The Telegraph, he adds that “British Museum President and former Treasury Secretary George Osborne allegedly offered Athens an olive branch: a long-term loan of sculptors, in turn sending them to Greece. in exchange for other antiques to be exhibited in London.”

The newspaper adds that “the interim arrangement proposed by Osborne will be a major communication victory for the Greeks and the basis for an improved agreement that could take a more definitive form in the coming years.”

“For the past two months, a wind of optimism has been blowing after some ‘top secret’ meetings in central London in recent weeks,” adds the respected Rome newspaper.

The Italian newspaper recalls that both American museums and Pope Francis have announced that they will return to Greece fragments of the Parthenon sculptures, and concludes: “International pressure is mounting more and more, and it is increasingly likely that London will somehow, finally give up.”

However, sources close to the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports on Wednesday denied a Bloomberg report that also said the two sides were “close to an agreement” on the gradual return of the Parthenon sculptures as part of a cultural exchange.

Source: RES-IPE