Mattis hails Greece's role in resolving FYROM name dispute

US Defense Secretary James Mattis stressed the importance of the Prespa Agreement signed between Athens and Skopje to resolve the 27-year-old name dispute and praised Greece's efforts to stop Russian interference in the process during a meeting with Greek counterpart Panos Kammenos at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

Mattis noted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' support for FYROM's path towards NATO membership through the name deal.

"Solving this protracted dispute took political courage and compromise by all. This step forward strengthens Balkan security and our NATO alliance," he told in comments before the cameras.

"We applaud Greece's stalwart commitment to protecting democratic values by expelling Russian diplomats, who sought to disrupt the sovereign processes surrounding the naming agreement. In doing so, Greece made clear that the birthplace of democracy...