ATHENS RETURNS TSAR SAMUEL'S REMAINS TO SOFIA

ATHENS, SEPTEMBER 29 /SRNA/ — Greece will return to Bulgaria the remains of the medieval Bulgarian ruler Tsar Samuel under an agreement that also provides for the transfer of other historical and religious artifacts between Sofia and Athens.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev assessed the agreement signed today as historic, saying it brings to an end six decades of efforts by Sofia to bring Samuel's remains home after they were discovered in Greece in 1965.

Samuel ruled from 997 to 1014 during the First Bulgarian Empire and Bulgarians regard him as a national hero over his struggle to preserve his country’s independence from the neighbouring Byzantine Empire.

Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos discovered Samuel's remains during excavations at the Basilica of St. Achilleios on an island in Lake Prespa in northern Greece. In recent years, the remains had been kept at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed today by the culture ministers of Greece and Bulgaria, Athens will receive nearly 50 religious relics that were transferred to Bulgaria during the First World War.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Radev and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis are expected to attend the official handover ceremony for Samuel's remains on October 3 at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki.