UK's Johnson rebuffs Greek PM's demand for talks on Parthenon marbles

FILE PHOTO: The Parthenon Marbles, a collection of stone objects, inscriptions and sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, are displayed at the British Museum in London October 16, 2014. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday that the issue of the Parthenon sculptures, which Greece wants returned from London to Athens, was one for the British Museum and not for his government.

Greece has been asking since 1832 for the return of the sculptures, which were removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin at a time when Greece was under Ottoman rule.