The Yugoslav Defence Minister, Pavle Bulatovic, has travelled overland to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, where he is reported to have taken a flight to Athens.

Bulgarian reports said he was accompanied by his daughter and the head of a Yugoslav state armaments company.

There has been no confirmation from Greece of his arrival, and no clear indication the purpose of his visit. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Aleksandr Avdeyev, is currently in Athens. The Yugoslav authorities made a formal protest to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry after Bulgarian police detained Mr Bulatovic for an hour at the border, after he arrived apparently without warning. Bulgaria said Belgrade had broken diplomatic protocol, and Mr Bulatovic was put under guard for his own safety.