Name deal puts further strain on coalition

The strained relationship between Greece's two coalition partners appeared to reach a new low on Wednesday following Defense Minister Panos Kammenos's proposal of a potential alternative plan to the Prespes name deal between Athens and Skopje while on an official visit to Washington. 

During a meeting at the US State Department on Tuesday with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell, Kammenos floated the idea of a defense agreement between Greece, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and other countries in the Balkans aimed at consolidating stability and curbing Russian influence in the region. 

Kammenos made his proposal on the basis of a prediction that FYROM will fail to push a name deal with Greece through its Parliament. The vote in FYROM's Parliament is set for next week and the Balkan country's Premier Zoran Zaev is...

Continue reading on: