Tsipras has no legitimacy to sign name deal, Mitsotakis tells President

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras does not have the political legitimacy to sign the name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for this is not approved by his junior government coalition partner, the Independent Greeks (ANEL), opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during a meeting with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Wednesday.

One day after Athens and Skopje announced they had reached a historic deal on the decades-old dispute, the New Democracy leader urged Pavlopoulos to make sure that the agreement is reviewed by Parliament before it is signed by the government. The agreement, under which FYROM will change its name to Republic of North Macedonia, is expected to be signed this weekend.

The meeting between Mitsotakis and Pavlopoulos had originally been scheduled for Tuesday.

Speaking on Skai earlier on Wednesday, conservative party spokesperson Maria Spyraki said the government had presented a “bad agreement,” adding that the prime minister “has no legitimacy to put his signature on it.”

ND has criticized the deal saying it recognizes a Macedonian ethnicity and language.