Alexis Tsipras: ‘We did not allow the Macedonian language because the Macedonian language is not ours to give away’

‘Neither the Macedonian nationality is ours to give. And the very use of the word "allow" indicates the illusion of greatness that stems from your nationalism. People living in Northern Greece are Greeks’, Tsipras said in the Parliament addressing the questions from Kyriakos Mitsotakis and added that the accusations of the Greek opposition leader are the same as those from the Macedonian opposition party VMRO-DPMNE to Zaev.

Грчкиот премиер Алексис Ципрас говори за време на парламентарната седница во Атина на 15 јануари 2019 година Source: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris

‘It is a historic day for Greece. It is also a historic day for the Balkans with their long history of conflicts, disputes and nationalist hatred. We are turning a page and giving space to peace, cooperation, friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding’, Tsipras said after the vote for ratification of the Prespа Agreement to end Macedonia name dispute.

Kyriakos  Mitsotakis :’The government, with an opportunist majority, voted for the harmful Prespa Agreement. Its ratification means the official recognition of the Macedonian language and identity for the residents of [Greece’s northern neighbour] for the first time by a Greek government, so the 10-year national line is abandoned. Tsipras said ‘yes’ where all his predecessors said ‘no’. Only he knows the reasons,” Mitsotakis said in his speech during the parliamentary debate on the Prespa Agreement