British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has canceled a meeting he was due to hold with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis amid a new high-level row over the Parthenon friezes housed in the British Museum, the BBC and The Guardian have reported.

Mitsotakis and Sunak were supposed to meet in London, but the British Prime Minister’s office canceled the meeting at the last minute. Mitsotakis rejected the alternative offered by the government in London to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden.

The cancellation comes just a day after the Greek prime minister said in an interview with the BBC that the friezes should be returned to Greece, saying that keeping some of the Parthenon artefacts in London and others in Athens would be like cutting up the Mona Lisa into two parts. pieces

“Those who strongly believe in the honesty and fairness of their positions never hesitate to engage in constructive discussion and debate,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after learning of the cancellation of the meeting at 10 Downing Street.

“Our position on sculpture is known. I was looking forward to a discussion with my British colleague on this topic, as well as on important global challenges, such as the situation in Gaza and Ukraine, the climate crisis and migration,” he added, recalling, however, that “Greece and Great Britain share a long-standing relationship bonds of friendship, and the level of our bilateral relations is great.”

Greek government sources told the BBC that Mitsotakis felt “embarrassed” and “annoyed” by his British counterpart’s decision.

Why Great Britain and London are fighting for the Parthenon

At the center of the dispute are the Parthenon friezes, as well as other artifacts belonging to this symbol of ancient Athens, which are stored in the British Museum.

Greece has been asking the British side for decades to return them, considering them part of its legitimate cultural heritage. In recent years, demands have increased as several former European colonial powers have begun to return to their former colonies art objects that they had given to European museums or gifted to them by private collectors.

But Conservative governments in London, in power since 2010, have consistently refused to heed such calls and encouraged representatives of the British Museum, one of Britain’s most visited tourist sites, to maintain a similar line.

London says the Parthenon sculptures were “legally acquired” in 1802 by British diplomat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who then sold them to the British Museum. However, Greece claims the artworks were “theft” while the country was still under Ottoman occupation.

A historic deal appeared close to being struck earlier this year when the British press reported that the British Museum had agreed to return the famous friezes to Athens on loan.

But the move ultimately failed as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a former financier, said the artefacts were a “great asset” to Britain. He also stated that Britain shares the treasures of its museums “with the whole world, and the world comes to Britain to see them”.

“The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we do not plan to change that,” he stressed.