Greek PM set to scrape through confidence motion

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made an impassioned appeal to Parliament for support on Tuesday, the eve of a confidence vote he is expected to survive by a whisker with the backing of a handful of opposition lawmakers.

Tsipras called the vote following the resignation of Defense Minister Panos Kammenos and his right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party over an accord to end a long dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by changing the country's name.

As Parliament opened two days of debate, Tsipras said it was a "patriotic duty" to proceed with the agreement, knowing it would have a political cost.

He called on lawmakers to support him, saying his government had pulled Greece from international bailouts and a debt crisis and has more work to do in the nine months that remain before its term ends in October.

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