Diplomatic spat over the Parthenon Marbles scuttles meeting of British and Greek leaders

By JILL LAWLESS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A diplomatic spat has erupted between Greece and Britain after the U.K. canceled a planned meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Mitsotakis angrily accused Sunak of trying to avoid discussing the contested Parthenon Marbles. Mitsotakis is visiting London and had been expected to meet Sunak at 10 Downing St. on Tuesday. He was due to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum. Late Monday Mitsotakis issued a statement to “express my annoyance at the fact that the British prime minister has cancelled our planned meeting a few hours before it was due to take place.” Britain confirmed the two leaders would not meet.