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Moreover, Roosevelt main goal was to obtain a commitment from Stalin to participate in the United Nations in order to secure future peace and alliance. As for the other Eastern European countries, the Americans and the British generally agreed that the future governments of the nations bordering the Soviet Union should be “friendly” to the Soviet regime as long as the Soviets pledged to allow free elections in all territories liberated from Germany.<ref> Roberts, p. 37</ref> Unfortunately, neither Poland nor any other Eastern European country had the opportunity of holding free elections for the next almost 50 years.<ref>Yalta Conference - http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference</ref>
Furthermore, the Big Three agreed to require Germany’s unconditional surrender and ratified their agreements regarding NAZI Germany 's postwar division: there were to be four zones of occupation, one zone for each of the three dominant nations plus one zone for France. Berlin itself, although within the Soviet zone, would also be divided into four sectors, and would eventually become a major symbol of the Cold War socialists-capitalists separation due to the infamous Berlin Wall, which was constructed and maintained by the Soviets.
The Soviets led by Stalin were keen on regaining lost territories and Yalta Conference was their best chance to do that. As a result, Stalin even agreed to enter the Pacific war against Japan in exchange for more territories granted, including portions of Sakhalin, Port Arthur, Manchurian railroads and the Kurile Islands.<ref> Roberts,p 38</ref> However, already in poor health, President Roosevelt failed to acknowledge Stalin’s true objectives. Roosevelt readily met Stalin’s conditions, since the Soviets eventually agreed to join the United Nations and Pacific war. The two leaders even secretly negotiated a voting formula with a veto power granted solely to the permanent members on the UN Security Council, providing themselves with more control in the world affairs and greatly weakening the UN power in the oncoming disputes. Overall, Roosevelt and the other Allies felt confident that Yalta had been successful. Nevertheless, the true Conference winner was once again Joseph Stalin.<ref>Plokhii, Serhii. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670021415/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0670021415&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=395fe063e5a59ca43bf5fc51b1cf3924 Yalta: The Price of Peace]</i>. New York, NY: Viking Press, NY, 2010), p. 145</ref>
