A Greek request to borrow the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum would only be considered if Greece acknowledges British ownership of the sculptures, the museum said on Tuesday.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s newly-elected prime minister, wants to borrow the marbles and have them put on display in Athens in 2021 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the start of the war of independence against the Ottoman Empire.

But the request would only be discussed in London if Greece acknowledged the British Museum’s ownership of the 2,500-year-old friezes, which were acquired by Lord Elgin from the Acropolis in the early 19th century.

“A pre-condition for any loan is the acceptance of the lending institution’s ownership,” a British Museum spokesperson told The Telegraph.

“We feel we have legal title to the sculptures that are in the British Museum collection.

“No museum or gallery in the world would loan objects unless the other institution that was borrowing them accepted ownership. There are conditions. They are not specific to the Marbles - they are a basic condition of all loans, not just for us but for all museums."