ATHENS: Israel on Tuesday returned to Greece 22 “illegally removed” ancient vases, drinking vessels and a statue in what Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni called a gesture of “particular significance.”

The handover in an Athens museum was staged as Greece steps up a campaign to secure the return of sculptures taken from the Acropolis.

The artefacts mainly date to the fifth and sixth centuries BC and were seized by Israel Antiquities Authority investigators. They were handed over by Israel’s ambassador in Athens, Pninat Yanay.

“The return of these 22 antiquities from Israel to our country today is of particular significance,” Mendoni said in a statement. She said they had been “illegally removed” from Greece.

“This is the first time Israel has returned antiquities to Greece, marking the start of closer cooperation between the two countries on the protection of cultural heritage,” she added.

Mendoni said that “every restitution of a cultural object to its place of origin carried a broader symbolic and moral dimension.”

Greece has made renewed calls for Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles, the 2,500-year-old sculptures taken from the Acropolis temple in the 19th century and now in the British Museum.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last week that the marbles could be a part of any negotiations about closer relations between Britain and the European Union.