ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes the official visit of the Yugoslav Federal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Miloš Minić, to Greece in December 1974, the second visit after the fall of the military junta in Athens and the first after the Greek referendum on internal organization. This visit, which has so far been insufficiently treated in historiography, is analyzed in the context of the international and regional politics of the time, as well as in the light of Yugoslav-Greek relations in the decades after World War II. The article also elaborates on all aspects of the visit, from the background to the public reaction. The research was largely based on unpublished sources kept in the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, the Archives of Yugoslavia, as well as on relevant literature.

KEYWORDS: Yugoslavia, Greece, Miloš Minić, Konstantinos Karamanlis, foreign policy, bilateral relations, multilateral relations.

SUMMARY: The specific geographical location and Cold War conditions influenced the cooperation between Yugoslavia and Greece in the mid-1970s. Relations between these two neighbouring countries after World War II was not always heading in an upward direction and therefore, depending on the situation, represented a significant challenge for both sides. From the tensions and climate of hostility during the Greek Civil War, through a period of alliance shaped by both states’ arrangements with Turkey within the framework of the Balkan Pact under Western auspices, to the mid-1960s rapprochement, followed by renewed deterioration during the rule of the military junta in Greece (1967–1974), the collapse of the regime in Athens was accompanied by a renewed warming of relations and a mutual willingness to restore bilateral ties. In the context of Cold War tensions between the blocs, the global crisis and the presence of the great powers in the waters of the Mediterranean, as well as the escalation of regional crises (the Middle East and Cyprus), the Greek side initiated a second visit by the Yugoslav Federal Secretary for Foreign Affairs to Greece after the fall of the junta, which, after the first visit in August of the same year, was carried out from 16 to 18 December 1974. During the visit, Federal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Miloš Minić held meetings with Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis, Foreign Minister Dimitrios Bitsios and other high-ranking Greek officials, during which a broad range of multilateral and bilateral issues was discussed, encompassing general ideas, proposals and initiatives, as well as specific sensitive questions. As part of the discussion on multilateral issues, the Cyprus problem and then the Middle East crisis, as integral parts of the crisis in the region, had a central place. The talks also touched on topics such as Balkan cooperation, the crisis in Turkey and, the sensitive issue of Greece’s position in NATO. In the sphere of bilateral issues, the so-called Macedonian question emerged as the central, most sensitive and perhaps the most current. It represented a question of Greece's treatment and relations with the Macedonian national minority and the SR Macedonia, and thus indirectly with Yugoslavia as a state. In addition, economic topics (regulation of the Vardar River, trade, electrification, construction of gas and oil pipelines) and cultural issues (Hilandar monastery, etc.) were also raised, as well as issues in the field of defense (military and technical cooperation). The visit of the Federal Secretary of the SFRY, Miloš Minić, to Greece in December 1974 had a very positive impact on the public in both countries, and also generated increased interest from neighboring countries. In general, the visit was seen as very positive and promising for further interstate cooperation.