Turkey, Greece to cooperate in returning stolen artifacts

Turkey and Greece are set to sign an agreement to cooperate in bids to facilitate the return of stolen artifacts to their respective countries, Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay has said, adding that his government was also collaborating with Interpol to prevent the sale of stolen paintings through auctions. "We recently signed an agreement with Bulgaria. My Greek counterpart is planning to pay a visit to Turkey soon and we plan to sign the agreement then," Gunay told media outlets in Ankara late Sept. 10. Turkey was recently successful in returning some ancient Troy artifacts from the American University of Pennsylvania Museum as part of a massive campaign to reclaim its cultural heritage spread to four corners of the world. According to Gunay, 3,327 pieces of artifacts were returned to their original homeland since 2008 as the result of intense governmental efforts. The ministry's works to identify and begin legal actions in facilitating the return of artifacts has, however, caused concern among international collectors and museums, Gunay said. Some of institutions housing once stolen artifacts agreed to return the identified pieces have requested that the issue be kept to a singular event rather than turned into a regional matter. The institutions have concerns over what future reactions from Greece and Egypt will be. The minister said Turkey's aggressive campaign to claim its own history is being closely followed by a few other countries, including Poland and Serbia.