A bronze statue of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, smuggled from the ancient city of Bubon in the Burdur region of Turkiye in the 1960s, will be returned from the United States.

Axar.az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

The statue has been kept in various collections for many years, most recently at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the United States. The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in cooperation with US law enforcement agencies, has completed the legal procedures for the statue's return to its homeland.

The statue will be brought to Ankara on a special Turkish Airlines flight in the coming days.