British leader Rishi Sunak's unexpected decision to cancel a meeting with his Greek colleague in London hours before Kyriakos Mitsotakis was expected in Downing Street was described as "disrespectful".
Greece was outraged by the actions of the Prime Minister of Great Britain
It is not something that is done just like that. We are looking for a precedent and we cannot find it, the representative of the Greek authorities complained.
Official Athens claims Rishi Sunak's decision is "disrespectful not only to the Greek Prime Minister but also to the Greek people."
We assume the obvious that he (Sunak — ed.) was irritated by comments confirming the country's unchanged position on the return of the Parthenon sculptures, the representative of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
He drew attention to the fact that it is better to express one's position, especially when the prime minister of another country is visiting with a problematic agenda, such as the Middle East crisis."
Why did Sunak refuse to meet with the Greek Prime Minister
The British edition of the Financial Times, concerning its insider, reported that the meeting "became impossible ... after the comments about the "Elgin marbles" that were made the day before."
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is not hiding his disappointment that Downing Street cancelled his meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over the issue of the return of the Parthenon marbles.
What is important to understand is that the marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures, are the ancient Greek treasures of the British Museum, which were brought to Great Britain by the British diplomat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin at the beginning of the 19th century (hence their British name — "Elgin marbles").
