The Culture Ministry made a statement on Tuesday saying that no official or unofficial proposal has been put forward to the British Museum in London, regarding the return of the Parthenon Marbles. This statement came in response to an article in the Independant newspaper, on the same day.
The Ministry spokesperson said that a systematic effort is being made to resume talks on the issue and that they are looking into a cooperation, which does not include legal action.
The article in the Independent, titled “Greece offers archeological wonders in exchange for Elgin Marbles”, claimed that an agreement had been made between the two sides, which included repeated loans of other Greek artifacts to the British Museum, in exchange for the Marbles.
Professor Louis Godart, who is chairman of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures (IARPS), said that he had not given an interview with the newspaper or any other information and that he would be writing to them to express disappointment at the fact that his name was wrongly used. These sort of articles really undermine the efforts being made by the Ministry in it’s negotiations, he concluded.