"We have come a long way, progress has been made and efforts continue; negotiations are not easy."
This was stated by Greek government spokesman Yiannis Oikonomou during the daily meeting with the press, answering questions on the negotiations between Athens and the British Museum for the possible return of the famous friezes of the Parthenon.
Negotiations "in progress", according to the government spokesman, which aim at the "permanent restitution" of the marbles, since Greece "does not recognize the ownership of the British Museum" as clarified by Oikonomou.
For Athens, in fact, the sculptures that adorned the facade of the temple on the Acropolis were stolen when the country was under Ottoman occupation, while for London, the marbles were "legally acquired" in 1802 by the British diplomat Lord Elgin, responsible for then sold them to the British Museum.
In recent days, the British press and in particular the Daily Telegraph have written of an imminent agreement for the return of the statues in the form of a "cultural exchange" and a "long-term loan" which would allow the London museum to circumvent the imposed ban by a British law to dismantle one's collection.