LONDON (AP) 鈥� British Prime Minister escalated his war of words with the leader of Greece on Wednesday, accusing Prime Minister of trying to 鈥済randstand鈥� over the disputed and breaking a promise to the U.K. government.
Mitsotakis, meanwhile, said the dispute had helped draw international attention to Greece鈥檚 longstanding claim to the artifacts, that was taken from Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin. The artifacts are on display in the .
The two European allies with center-right governments since Monday, when Sunak called off a scheduled meeting with Mitsotakis hours before it was due to start.
During the British prime minister鈥檚 weekly question period in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sunak said 鈥渋t was clear that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss substantive issues for the future, but rather to grandstand and relitigate issues of the past.鈥�
Greece and the United Kingdom have a long-running dispute over the Parthenon Marbles. Athens so they can be displayed alongside the rest of the Parthenon sculptures at a purpose-built museum in Athens.
British officials were annoyed that Mitsotakis appeared on British television Sunday and compared the removal of the sculptures from Athens to cutting Leonardo da Vinci鈥檚 鈥淢ona Lisa鈥� in half.
Sunak said Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to talk publicly about the marbles during his visit.
鈥淪pecific assurances on that topic were made to this country and then were broken,鈥� Sunak said. 鈥淲hen people make commitments, they should keep them.鈥�
Greece denied any such promise was made. The Greek government declined to comment further Wednesday.
鈥淚n the spirit of the good longstanding relations between the two countries, which we intend to preserve, we have nothing more to add on this matter,鈥� it said.
Speaking before Sunak鈥檚 latest comments, Mitsotakis said he thought the spat 鈥渨ill not affect Greek-British relations in the long term.鈥�
鈥淭here was a positive side to the cancellation of this meeting, that it gained even more publicity 鈥� (for) the fair request of Greece for the reunification of the sculptures of the Parthenon," he said in Athens.
Critics questioned Sunak鈥檚 motivation for stirring up a fight with Greece. Since taking office 13 months ago, he has smoothed relations with the European Union and its member nations after years of acrimony over Brexit.
Athens officials have pointed to the Conservative Party鈥檚 poor opinion poll ratings and Sunak鈥檚 long list of domestic woes, including a stagnant economy and an unmet promise to stop migrants reaching the U.K. across the English Channel in small boats.
Opinion surveys suggest British voters do not care strongly about the marbles and have other priorities, such as the cost of living and the overstretched National Health Service.
The leader of the U.K. opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, met with Mitsotakis in London on Monday. Starmer asked why Sunak was trying to 鈥渉umiliate鈥� the Greek leader.
鈥淚 discussed with the Greek prime minister the economy, security, immigration,鈥� Starmer said. 鈥淚 also told him we wouldn鈥檛 change the law regarding the Marbles. It鈥檚 not that difficult, prime minister.鈥�
___
Associated Press writers Nicholas Paphitis and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
