MADRID, January 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The British Museum, which houses one of the world’s most important heritage collections, has for the first time confirmed contact with Greek authorities for the potential return of the looted Parthenon marbles, which have been the subject of recurring political wrangling since the 19th century.

Speculation about a possible imminent deal for Elgin Marbles has been running rampant in recent days. According to Bloomberg’s agent, the exchange agreement will be close to closing under which Athens will restore the marbles within the framework of a cultural exchange which will facilitate the loan of other goods to London.

Sources from the Greek Ministry of Culture have denied to the newspaper ‘Kathimerini’ that such an agreement exists, but what is official is that there are contacts and that they are advancing in a “constructive” way, as revealed this Thursday in an unprecedented way . cue by the British Museum.

“We have publicly said that we are actively seeking a new alliance on the Parthenon with our friends in Greece,” explained the British agency, which sparked a “new year” of talks between the two sides, according to ‘The Guardian’ .

The Greek government has always defended its desire for the permanent return of the heritage held by the British Museum, while the museum supports some sort of brokerage agreement. In fact, the UK Executive also stressed in December that it had no plans to reform laws that limit the perpetual restitution of works of art to particularly exceptional cases.

The Elgin Marbles are one of the main attractions of the British Museum, which also displays other works from ancient Greece and other historic cultures such as Egypt.