On September 24, 1941, at an inter-Allied conference in London, Russia, represented by M. Maiski, endorsed the Atlantic Charter. He stated: "The Soviet Union defends the right of every nation to the independence and terri*torial integrity of its country, and its right to establish such a social order and to choose such a form of government as it deems opportune and necessary for the better promotion of its economic and cultural prosperity." The same was asserted by M. Litvinov on January 1,1942 in Washington, when he signed the United Nations Statement in the name of the Soviet Union. The third time we find the same noble principles of the Atlantic Charter in another binding instrument, the twenty-year Mutual Assistance Pact between the Soviet Union and Great Britain, signed on May 26,1942 by V. Molotov and A. Eden. "Both Powers will", it said, ";resist aggression in the postwar period, they will act in accordance with the two principles of not seeking territorial aggrandizement for themselves and of non-inter*ference in the internal affairs of other States."
Latvia / The Story of Latvia / The Last Act of the Baltic Tragedy
However...
Through his ambassador to Britain (Maiski), Stalin declared that the Soviet Union was in agreement with the Charter, provided that the practical application of these principles adjusts itself of necessity to the circumstances, needs, and special historical characteristics of the concerned countries. This is the so-called Maiski clause, which enabled Stalin to profess lip service to the principles of the Atlantic Charter while disregarding these principles in practice. During the negotiations for the British-Russian mutual-aid pact in December 1941, the British had refused to go along with the Soviet demand to recognize their pre-war borders, which in essence meant the recognition of the annexation of the Baltic States and Eastern Poland; however, with a more favourable progression of the war in 1943, they became inclined to accept the pre-war borders of the Soviet Union.
Mažoji Lietuva