‘Publish my resignation letter,’ Kotzias challenges government

Nikos Kotzias has challenged the leftist-led government to reveal why he resigned from his post as foreign minister on Wednesday amid a heated disagreement with the head of the coalition's junior partner, Panos Kammenos.

“They should publish my letter of resignation. In its nine pages, I explain exactly why I resigned,” Kotzias said on Wednesday night in response to comments by government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos who said the foreign minister's move was “entirely incomprehensible.”

Kotzias stressed that Kammenos, who is also defense minister, had no business discussing foreign policy during a trip to Washington earlier this week, where he presented his own alternative to the name deal with the Former Yugoslav of Republic, which his small nationalist party opposes.

“The first role in these matters belongs to the prime minister and the second to the foreign minister,” stressed Kotzias, whose resignation was prompted by a bitter argument with Kammenos at a cabinet meeting after the Independent Greeks leader returned from the US.

Kotizas also refuted suggestions by Kammenos that the Foreign Ministry was “hiding” a string of “confidential expenses,” saying there is “no such issue.”