ATHENS – Meeting President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou for the regular monthly briefing on Wednesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to the government’s efforts to reactivate the national goal for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures and their return to the Acropolis Museum.

“In these years, we have proceeded very methodically, I believe, and we can already point to some very significant successes. The return of first fragments, such as the “Fagan fragment” or the fragments held by the Vatican, which are returning for good to the Acropolis museum,” noted Mitsotakis, among others.

“We also have a very good decision from UNESCO but, more importantly, we have a very significant change in the UK, on the level of public opinion but also on the level of people that have a view on the issue, from the entire political spectrum, who now openly argue in favour of the need to reunify the Parthenon Sculptures, recognising their uniqueness and their special significance for world heritage,” Mitsotakis pointed out.

While noting that he does not expect immediate results, Mitsotakis said that very systematic moves have been made and that, provided the Greek people place their trust in his government once again in the elections, “I believe that we will finally achieve this goal, always with total respect for the obvious red lines that all the Greek governments have set.” At the same time, he emphasised the importance of achieving what all sides wanted, which was none other than for all people, both Greeks and foreigners, to see and enjoy this global, unique monument of cultural heritage in its entirety in its natural place, which was none other than the Acropolis Museum under the shade of the Acropolis.

Mitsotakis also spoke about the findings of the OECD annual economic survey which, as he said, were extremely positive for the Greek economy.