Yugoslav FM says Milosevic opposition weakening

The Yugoslav foreign minister, Zivadin Jovanovic, has said turnout at a big demonstration in Belgrade on Monday shows that opposition to President Slobodan Milosevic is weakening.

About fifteen-thousand people attended the rally, which called for a change of government.

Opposition leaders said many people had stayed away because they feared being detained by the security forces.

Mr Jovanovic, who was speaking during a visit to Moscow, said elections due this year and next would take place on time, and they would be free and fair.

The Russian foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, stressed Russian support for Yugoslavia. The Russian government is reported to have agreed to provide Belgrade with a multi-million dollar loan and petroleum products.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service