The director of the British Museum, George Osborne, has stated that a potential agreement with Greece to resolve the longstanding dispute over the Parthenon Marbles is still “some way off.”

“We are exploring whether we can reach an agreement where, at some point, some of the marbles would be in Athens, where they were, of course, originally located,” Osborne mentioned on a podcast he co-hosts. “In return, Greece would lend us some of its treasures. We’ve made quite a bit of progress, but we’re still far from any kind of agreement,” he said.

Osborne, a former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, sought to temper expectations for an immediate resolution. He noted that he was speaking from New York and not London, implying that his presence in the British capital would be required if a deal were imminent. “I’d be in London if we were on the verge of an agreement regarding the Parthenon Marbles,” he stated.

New Dynamics Following UK Government Change

Osborne highlighted that the new Labour government, led by Keir Starmer, has granted him greater autonomy in addressing the issue. On Tuesday, Starmer met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a one-on-one meeting that reignited discussions about the marbles.

This marked a shift from Starmer’s predecessor, Rishi Sunak, who canceled a planned meeting with Mitsotakis last year due to comments the Greek Prime Minister had made regarding the marbles.

Osborne remarked: “Keir Starmer has said this is a matter for the trustees of the British Museum, who are independent of the government.”