Merkel expresses support for reform effort, Prespes deal

On her first visit to Athens in four years, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday expressed her support for the Prespes name deal as well as Greece's ongoing economic reform efforts, saying the country was entering a new phase.

In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Merkel said the name deal "creates clarity" and will be beneficial not just for Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia but for the whole of the European Union.

She hailed the efforts of Tsipras and his FYROM counterpart Zoran Zaev and said she would raise the issue of the name deal with Greece's conservative New Democracy leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who she is to meet on Friday. She noted, however, that she did not believe she could influence Mitsotakis, who opposes the agreement.

Merkel rejected speculation that there had been a trade-off between Greek...