The chairman of the British Museum said Tuesday that a deal with Greece over the Parthenon Marbles is still within reach, but only if the sculptures are shared between London and Athens, a condition the Greek government has repeatedly rejected.
"I remain optimistic that we can reach an agreement," George Osborne told Bloomberg in an interview in Athens. "If everyone enters into it with the spirit of 'we're not going to get everything we want,' as is always the case with a successful agreement, then there's a deal to be done."
Mr. Osborne said the sculptures should be shown in both cities, in different settings: in Athens as part of ancient Greek history, and in London as part of the story of all civilizations. "I know this is not the position of everyone in Greece, and I understand and respect that," he said. "But it is our position."
The positions remain far apart. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote in The Guardian last month that Greece will not accept any deal that recognizes British Museum ownership, or one that would have it "borrow" part of its own monument.
The dispute is nearly two centuries old. The sculptures were removed from the Parthenon in Athens in the early 1800s and have been in the British Museum since 1816. Greece's Culture Ministry says about 60% of the surviving sculptural material is in London. British law bars the museum from permanently parting with items in its collection.
Mr. Osborne has sought a compromise since 2021. In early 2023 the sides appeared close to a cultural-exchange arrangement, but more than three years later there is no agreement.
The Marbles are now entering Britain's EU diplomacy. Mr. Mitsotakis said they "will be part of that discussion." Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in 2023, before taking office, that they should be returned without conditions, but said in August it is a matter for the museum.
Mr. Osborne was in Athens as keynote speaker at an event marking the fifth anniversary of Ideal Holdings.