At the time of the Yalta conference, the Soviets had the advantage of having their troops in the heart of Europe.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Latin American Yalta

At a conference in Ukraine's Black Sea resort of Yalta, International Monetary Fund Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the world economy remained stuck "between the ice of recession and the fire of inflation, " and added that while the world financial market crisis was largely over, its consequences would be felt for some time to come.

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He said, if it was not for the Yalta European Strategy conference network, the EU would not even be discussing Ukraine at all.

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