ATHENS, Greece �� Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament, securing support to sign an agreement with the Republic of Macedonia and to continue governing until his term expires in 2019.
The no-confidence motion by the opposition failed, 153-127.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the main opposition New Democracy party, submitted the motion against Tsipras Thursday after the government agreed Tuesday with the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia to solve a 27-year-old dispute over the name of Greece's northern neighbor.
"We have a good deal" Tsipras said in his speech in Parliament Saturday night, adding that opposition doesn't want any kind of agreement with the neighboring country.
Tsipras and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev agreed to call the Balkan state of 2 million people "the Republic of North Macedonia," as they seek to proceed with that country's accession process to the European Union and NATO.
The agreement sparked objections in both Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, whose president, Gjorge Ivanov, said he won't sign the deal to rename his country, claiming that the proposal contradicts the country's constitution and national interests.
Tsipras won the motion even though his main coalition partner, Panos Kammenos, has repeatedly said the party won't vote to ratify the agreement when it's submitted to Parliament. Kammenos' Independent Greeks party opposes using "Macedonia" in the name.
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(Sotiris Nikas contributed to this report.)
