Molotov remained firm and sought to remove German troops from Finland and gain a warm water port in the Baltic. Hitler encouraged Molotov to look south to Iran and eventually India, to preserve German access to Finland's resources and to remove Soviet influence in the Balkans. Hitler, Ribbentrop and Molotov tried to set German and Soviet spheres of influence. The talks were followed by both countries trading written proposed agreements.Īfter two days of negotiations from 12 to 14 November 1940, Germany presented the Soviets with a draft written Axis pact agreement that defined the world spheres of influence of the four proposed Axis powers ( Germany, Italy, Japan and the Soviet Union). The negotiations, which occurred during the era of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, included a two-day conference in Berlin between Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and Adolf Hitler and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. German–Soviet Axis talks occurred in October and November 1940 concerning the Soviet Union's potential entry as a fourth Axis Power during World War II. Joachim von Ribbentrop welcoming Vyacheslav Molotov in Berlin, November 1940
