Greece must ratify Prespes deal or risk isolation, Potami chief warns

Stavros Theodorakis, leader of To Potami centrists, on Thursday said Greece should endorse a name deal with neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) or risk being alienated from its western partners.

“If we turn down the agreement, the country will be isolated internationally. We will clash with the European Union. We will clash with NATO. We will clash with the USA,” Theodorakis said, adding that 140 states have already recognized FYROM as “Republic of Macedonia.”

Although Theodorakis plans to back the deal in Parliament, his small, pro-business party has been painfully divided over the Prespes accord.

The vote to ratify the deal was pushed to Friday. “There is an unprecedented high number of MPs who want to speak,” Greek parliamentary speaker Nikos Voutsis told journalists.