PM's office says will not 'fast track' name deal, challenges opposition leader to debate

The office of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday made a public invitation to the head of the main opposition, New Democracy, to take part in a lived televised debate between the two leaders.

Tsipras's office challenged Kyriakos Mitsotakis to defend his conservative party's position on the contentious deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) settling a decades old name dispute, which is expected to go to lawmakers for ratification within the next few months after the prime minister survived a confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday night.

In the debate preceding the vote, Mitsotakis reiterated his party's opposition to the so-called Prespes agreement, suggesting it made too many concessions to the other side. The majority of Greeks are against the use of the term "Macedonia" in FYROM's name and constitution, saying it denotes...