Page "Joseph Stalin" Paragraph 53

In these conferences, his first appearances on the world stage, Stalin proved to be a formidable negotiator.

Anthony Eden, the British Foreign Secretary noted: " Marshal Stalin as a negotiator was the toughest proposition of all.

Indeed, after something like thirty years ' experience of international conferences of one kind and another, if I had to pick a team for going into a conference room, Stalin would be my first choice.

Of course the man was ruthless and of course he knew his purpose.

He never wasted a word.

He never stormed, he was seldom even irritated.