Greece's Tsipras Says Lawmakers Expressed Confidence In Stability By Supporting His Gov't

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2019) Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose government won a vote of confidence from the parliament, said that the lawmakers had supported stability by this vote, allowing the cabinet to continue its reforms that had already changed the country.

"Today, the parliament expressed confidence in stability. It expressed confidence in the efforts to restore the country's authority on the international level; and the government that has already changed Greece and will continue doing so until the end of its constitutionally established mandate with a special focus on the interests of Greeks, the needs and interests of the majority of Greeks," Tsipras told reporters, commenting on the results of the confidence vote in his in his government.

The vote followed the withdrawal of ex-Defense Minister Panos Kammenos' Independent Greeks (ANEL) party from the ruling coalition with Tsipras' SYRIZA over the Athens-Skopje deal on renaming Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia. Before the agreement was concluded in June, Athens was in dispute with the country over its name for years, claiming that Macedonia might have territorial claims over Greece's own region of the same name.

The deal has already been approved by the Macedonian parliament and now needs to be ratified by Greek lawmakers, too. Tsipras has said he believed the agreement would receive more than 151 votes in the 300-strong parliament.