Athens, Greece (AP) -- Baghdad's National Museum, a treasure trove of antiquities from the stone age and Babylon to the Assyrians and Islamic art, cannot open to the public despite the renovation of two of its galleries nearing completion, an Iraqi official said Tuesday.

Italy has been involved in the renovation, which will be completed by May or June, Louis Godart, adviser on culture to the Italian president, said at an international conference in Athens on returning cultural objects to their countries of origin.

But believing that this would lead to the museum opening