British Museum chief: Parthenon Marbles deal with Greece 'some distance' away

The head of the British Museum, George Osborne, said Wednesday a reported deal with Greece to end a decades-long dispute over the highly contested and priceless Parthenon Marbles was "still some distance" away.

His comments came a day after the London museum confirmed it was holding "constructive" talks with Athens over "sharing" the ancient sculptures, raising the prospect that the friezes might be loaned back to Greece.

"We're looking to see if we can come to some arrangement where at some point some of the sculptures are in Athens, where, of course, they were originally sited," Osborne said on a political podcast he co-hosts.

"And in return, Greece lends us some of its treasures, and we made a lot of progress on that, but we're still some distance from any kind of agreement."

Appearing eager to dampen expectations that any loan deal was imminent, Osborne - a former UK finance minister - noted that he was speaking from New York and not the British capital.

"I would be in London if we were on the verge of reaching an agreement with Greece around the Parthenon sculptures," he added.

Osborne also suggested that he had been given a freer hand in the contentious matter by the new Labour government elected in July and headed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The UK leader hosted his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis Tuesday. It came a year after Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak axed a meeting with Greece's leader at the last minute, reportedly over an interview he had given about the Marbles.

On his podcast, Osborne noted: "Keir Starmer has said this is very much a matter for the trustees of the British Museum, who are independent of the government. 

"And, so it's not the same as Rishi Sunak, who refused to see the Greek Prime Minister... he sort of stood him up. So it seems to me a more sensible and diplomatic way to proceed."

The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, have been a source of contention between Britain and Greece for over two centuries.

Greek authorities maintain that the sculptures were looted in 1802 by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. London claims that the sculptures were "legally acquired" by Elgin, and then sold to the British Museum.