§ 48. Mr. Rhys Daviesasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of his declarations as to which countries the provisions of the Atlantic Charter do not apply. he will now state to which countries those provisions do apply.
§ Mr. AttleeI think my hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been at pains to make it clear in past statements in the House that the Charter cannot be regarded as applying as a matter of right to our enemies, or as constituting any sort of pact or bargain with them.
§ Mr. Rhys DaviesDoes not the right hon. Gentleman understand that people are being deceived by statements made by the Prime Minister on this subject? The Prime Minister told us some time ago that the Charter does not apply to certain countries. Why cannot the Government, 397 therefore, tell us to what countries the provisions of the Charter do actually apply?
§ Mr. SorensenWhy was the particular interpretation now given by the Deputy Prime Minister not made perfectly clear at the time of the signing of the Charter?
§ Mr. AttleeI think it was perfectly obvious at the time the Charter was made that it was a statement giving the general principles on which the United Nations were acting. There never was any suggestion that it was a bargain with our enemies.
§ Sir H. WilliamsDoes it apply to the Baltic Republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia?