(SOFIA) - Four Bulgarian farmers were arrested Wednesday as some 300 demonstrators blocked major streets in Sofia and tried to storm government buildings in protests over farming subsidies, the interior ministry said.

One of those arrested was the head of the dairy farmers' association, Adrian Tsakonski.

Protestors brought traffic to a standstill at major crossroads between the government and president's buildings and tried to storm the office of Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, calling for the government's resignation.

Hundreds of police were deployed to maintain order and there were brief clashes with demonstrators.

Stanishev refused to meet farmers' representatives, saying he would not negotiate with anyone who broke the law.

Farmers have staged a series of protests and road blockades over the past month over demands for their delayed state subsidies for high-quality milk and aid to buy feed for their animals, which they say are starving.

They are also pressing for a reduction in value-added or sales tax on food products.

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