Foreign minister accuses ND leader of being irresponsible on foreign policy

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Sunday issued a stern statement accusing New Democracy leader of being irresponsible and unserious when it comes to matters of foreign policy following the opposition leader's criticism of the government's concessions in the Macedonia name deal with Skopje.

"He refuses to treat issues of foreign policy with due seriousness," Kotzias said, noting that he see it as "an area for public relations."

Referring to Mitsotakis's criticism of the name deal -- which granted Skopje the so-called Macedonian language and ethnicity -- Kotzias said the ND leader "does not grasp" matters of foreign policy, noting that the "Macedonian language was first recognized by the ministers of ERE in the '50s and then officially delivered by New Democracy in 1977 ," he said, referring to the National Radical Union party formed by Constantinos Karamanlis.