Greece facilitates the loan of antiquities abroad against the advice of some archaeologists

Greece's parliament on Monday passed a law making it easier to exhibit rare antiquities in museums abroad, but archaeologists worry the reform could pave the way for a long-term "export" of rare

objects

The move comes as the Greek government is in talks with the British Museum over a possible return of the Parthenon friezes to Athens.

daily

reported last week that the Santorini frescoes

as being eligible for a loan swap.

The Association of Greek Archaeologists said it would seek to block this law by taking legal action.

, denounces the association in a press release.

The Greek Ministry of Culture has been trying for years to negotiate agreements for the repatriation of antiquities without resorting to legal action.

Its main objective remains the restitution of the friezes of the Parthenon, held by the British Museum since the 19th century.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said on Monday that Athens was offering

of Greek antiquities in Britain to allow the

of the Parthenon friezes.

Trafficking in illegal objects

London claims the sculptures were

in 1802 by British diplomat Lord Elgin who sold them to the British Museum.

But Greece maintains that they were the object of

while the country was under Ottoman occupation.

Last year, Greece's culture ministry brokered a deal to acquire 161 Bronze Age antiquities that were part of the collection of American billionaire and philanthropist Leonard Stern.

He plans for the collection to be gradually returned to Greece over the next 25 years after their display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

This agreement has been criticized by the association of Greek archaeologists, who believe that Leonard Stern is a

and that a bad precedent would thus be created by allowing wealthy collectors to escape the justice.

According to the association, the billionaire once owned a Bronze Age marble idol from Sardinia, then seized in 2018 from the collection of billionaire Michael Steinhardt for trafficking in illegal objects.