Greece Returns Stolen Antiquities to Albania

The two statues were stolen from the museum at the archaeological site at Butrint in 1991.

Greece returned two ancient marble statues to Albania on Thursday, 17 years after they were stolen from one of its neighbour's museums and smuggled into Greece.

Culture Minister Michalis Liapis said the statues were finally returning to their rightful owners. Greece has put pressure on several major museums abroad to return hundreds of ancient Greek objects.

"With this move we are highlighting our political philosophy and we hope people in other countries will follow suit," Liapis told reporters at the new Acropolis Museum after signing an agreement with Albanian counterpart Ylli Pango.

The two statues, one of goddess Artemis from the second century BC and a second century AD sculpture of Apollo, were stolen from the museum at the archaeological site at Butrint in 1991. They were recovered in Greece in 1997.

Greece has brought home several ancient objects, including some owned by the J. Paul Getty museum in California, after it proved they had been illegally excavated and smuggled out.

The Getty's former curator Marion True is facing charges of illegally obtaining dozens of ancient artefacts in Greece. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Greece is continuing to pressure Britain to return the Parthenon marbles, also known as the Elgin marbles after the British diplomat Lord Elgin who took them from the Athens Acropolis before giving them to the British Museum.

The museum has long refused to return them to Greece. The new Acropolis museum has a hall reserved for the Elgin marbles.