Xi: Sculptures belong to Greece

Enduring art: Xi and his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos admiring a 2,500-year-old statue at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. — AP

Athens: Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, wading into a decades-old dispute between the countries over the ownership of the sculptures.

The ancient friezes, which include depictions of battles between mythical ancient Greeks and centaurs, were taken by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century and are now on display at the British Museum in London.Britain has always refused to return the carvings – often still known as the Elgin Marbles – arguing that they were taken with the permission of local Ottoman rulers at the time.Xi toured the Acropolis Museum, built partly to house the Parthenon Marbles, yesterday as part of his three-day visit to Athens and told his hosts that he agreed that the sculptures should be returned.