The government aims in 2025 to update the Interpol database with Cypriot antiquities lost abroad with information on private collections that were in the north until 1974 and have since been lost, Deputy Culture Minister Vasiliki Kassianidou said on Monday.

Responding to a question to CNA on whether the repatriation of antiquities that had been recently announced has been completed, Kassianidou said that the antiquities from London and Los Angeles have already been repatriated, while the ones that are at Cyprus’ embassy in Vienna will also be gradually returned.

Asked whether the repatriation of other antiquities was expected within 2025, Kassianidou underlined that there was nothing specific to announce but noted that the antiquities department and the committee for the prevention of illicit trade and trafficking of antiquities, continue their work on this matter. 

Officials of the antiquities department and the police monitor the auctions, she added, noting that, as soon as they identify a Cypriot antiquity, they begin the process for investigating its provenance and whether it has been illegally removed from Cyprus.

The goal for 2025, Kassianidou said, is to continue updating the Interpol database for lost antiquities with information on private collections that were in the occupied territories until 1974 and have since been lost. She said that, for some years now, the antiquities department has been digitising its archives with funding from Switzerland and Norway.

“Since we have digitised the private collections” she said, this information can now be added to the Interpol database “so that we can claim them more easily if any of these items appear on the market”.