British Museum Chair Osborne says talks on a deal on the Parthenon Sculptures will continue

In the podcast on Thursday, he said the British Museum has been exploring a deal “ whereby they spend part of their time in Athens and part of their time in London - and we have Greek treasures coming our way in return. And that is, I think, something worth exploring.”

The British Museum can continue to explore solutions with Greece regarding the Parthenon Sculptures “whether or not [British Prime Minister] Rishi Sunak meets the Greek prime minister or not,” British Museum Chair George Osborne said in his latest Political Currency podcast, following a “diplomatic spat” caused by Sunak’s last-minute cancellation of a meeting with his Greek counterpart.

In the podcast on Thursday, he said the British Museum has been exploring a deal “ whereby they spend part of their time in Athens and part of their time in London – and we have Greek treasures coming our way in return. And that is, I think, something worth exploring.”

Although Osborne has made similar statements before, it is viewed as greatly significant that he repeated them in the wake of the “diplomatic tension” caused by Sunak with Greece. In fact, Osborne noted, “ To my mind as chair of the British Museum it is all the more reason to press on with our efforts to try and reach an agreement with the Greeks.”

“In fact, if anything, things have been rather clarified by this week. We obviously know we’re not going to get any particular support from the Conservative government,” he added.