Greece returned two stolen ancient marble statues to Albania on Thursday after they went missing a decade ago from a museum and were then smuggled into the country, according to dpa. The two statues dating from the 2nd Century AD - one of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and the other of the sun god Apollo - were stolen from the museum at the archaeological site at Butrint in 1991. They were confiscated by Greek authorities in 1997. Police had discovered the statues in the hands of two private collectors in Athens. They were then handed over to the archaeological museum in Piraeus, which traced their origins. The statues were handed over to Albanian authorities at a ceremony at the new Acropolis Museum in Athens by Greek Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis. Liapis stressed that through this action Greece was putting into practice its policy for the return of stolen antiquities to their place of origin. Greece is among several countries, including Italy, which has put pressure on museums worldwide to return hundreds of Ancient Greek objects. "With this move we are highlighting out political philosophy and we hope people in other countries will follow suit," Liapis said after meeting with his Albanian counterpart Ylli Pango. Greece has received several objects from the J. Paul Getty Museum in California recently after its antiquity police proved that they had been illegally excavated and smuggled out of the country. The Getty museum's former antiquities curator Marion True is facing charges of illegally obtaining dozens of ancient artifacts in Greece. Athens has also repeatedly demanded the return of the Parthenon Marbles - currently in the British Museum in London, and taken by Lord Elgin - to be returned to their rightful place near the ancient Acropolis. The new Acropolis Museum has a specially designed top floor which has been set aside for when the Parthenon Marbles return home.