U.S. RESPONSE TO ANGLOSOVIET DIVISION OF SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IN THE BALKANS, 1944 Ren Donglai (62) When Britain and the Soviet Union conducted a series of diplomatic activities over the division of sphere of influence in Greece and Romania in 1944, America remained silent but did not give its endorsement. This represened its attitude toward postwar world arrangements. Differing in diplomatic goals from Britain and the Soviet Union which sought to maintain their spheres of influence, America was pursuing global leadership. It was generally believed in America that the old concept of sphere of influence was the cause of the two world wars. Peace based thereon could not be sustained. Meanwhile, America made no explicit overall arrangements against the practice of the sphere of influence in wartime. President F.D. Roosevelt never differentiated the concept of the "four policemen" from that of sphere of influence. Neither had he formulated any concrete policy toward Eastern Europe. This made U.S. diplomatic practice look indeterminate and contradictory.