On Wednesday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister of Greece, denied rumours that the sculptures from the Parthenon, known as the Elgin Marbles in Britain, will soon be returned.
Recently, new discussions between Britain and Greece about resolving the long-running conflict have begun. The 2,500-year-old statues that British diplomat Lord Elgin took from the Parthenon temple when he served as envoy to the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century have been requested repeatedly by Greece from the British Museum.
Conservative premier Mitsotakis, whose tenure ends in July, expressed hope for the repatriation in a televised meeting with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
"I don't expect immediate results but I believe that we have already moved very systematically," Mitsotakis said.
"If the Greek people trust us again, I believe we could achieve this target after the elections."
Greece has accused Lord Elgin of theft and does not recognise the British Museum as the owner of the sculptures.
