On 10 March Joffre wrote to Sarrail that his presence at Salonika was intended as a bluff to tie down Central Powers forces, whilst at the same time aiming to draw Greece and Romania to the Allied side, but at the same time he was to make "real preparations" for a major offensive. At the Allied conference on 12 March Russia and Serbia pushed for a major offensive from Salonika, but this did not meet with Anglo-French approval. Joffre gave Sarrail permission (20 April) for a "demonstration", but five days later wrote to Robertson proposing a major offensive. This did not meet with British approval.