Greek PM bemoans lack of progress on return of Parthenon marbles

Visitors in the Parthenon Galleries at the British Museum. The Greek PM said the issue of the marbles was not a question of ownership but ‘reunification’. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty

Talks over a possible return of the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum to Greece are not advancing quickly enough, the Greek prime minister has said before his meeting with Rishi Sunak this week.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis likened the British Museum’s possession of the sculptures – also known as the Elgin marbles – to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half, saying it was not a question of ownership but “reunification”.