VZCZCXRO2671
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHWR #1097/01 1311530
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111530Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4192
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW PRIORITY 1693
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 001097
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PL
SUBJECT: FM FOTYGA OUTLINES POLISH FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES
WARSAW 00001097 001.2 OF 002
Entire text is sensitive but unclassified (SBU).
1. Summary: FM Anna Fotyga outlined the government's
foreign policy priorities in a two hour report to the Polish
Parliament on May 11. Fotyga repeatedly stressed the need
for greater energy security, referring to it as the "flagship
issue" of Poland's foreign policy. She did little to
ameliorate Poland's chilly relations with its two most
important neighbors, Russia and Germany. She called on
Moscow to "treat all EU countries equally and with equal
dignity," commenting that Russian elites do not "accept or
endorse" views from EU states that were formerly in their
sphere of influence. With respect to Germany, Fotyga stated
that "raising historical issues has consequences today," in
reference to a proposed center for German expellees and
property claims made by Germans on former German territory.
Fotyga praised the United States as the "guarantor of global
order," saying that Poland's experience with Solidarity led
to Poland's decision to send forces to Iraq and Afghanistan.
She said that the upcoming visit of President Bush would
focus on Missile Defense, adding that Poland's security
concerns must be addressed and that any added infrastructure
must be "conducive to our joint security." End Summary.
2. FM Anna Fotyga delivered a two hour speech on the
government's foreign policy objectives on May 11 with Polish
President Lech Kaczynski, with his Lithuanian counterpart
Valdas Adamkus, looking on. With an energy summit covening
in Krakow today bringing together the leaders of Poland,
Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine, Fotyga made
repeated references to energy security, calling it the
"flagship issue" of Poland's foreign policy. In a swipe at
the Russian-German plan to construct the Nord-Stream pipeline
under the Baltic Sea bypassing Poland, she called on the EU
to promote responsibility and solidarity among all member
states, and argued Poland should not be cut out. She said
that while relations with Russia must be "good and
pragmatic," it was important to diversify sources of energy,
praising efforts to promote constuction of a northern
pipeline from Poland to Denmark and Norway, and urging
further cooperation with Central Asian nations on energy
matters.
3. After one reference to Germany's position as Poland's
main partner in the EU, Fotyga had little positive to add
about Berlin, criticizing the proposed center for German
expellees -- an issue of enormous preoccupation for the
government here -- and pending German claims for property
lost after World War II when the German borders moved
westward. Such claims, according to Fotyga, were completely
void under Polish and internatonal law. Fotyga criticized
Germany for "raising historical issues that have consequences
today," called the proposed Baltic pipeline between Russia
and Germany an "ill-conceived notion," and called on better
treatment of the Polish minorities abroad -- both in Germany
and in Belarus.
4. Fotyga said that foreign leaders now routinely travel to
Warsaw because Polish views are important, citing President
Bush's travel to Jurata on June 8. She praised the United
States as the "guarantor of global security," and said that
the foremost topic of the presidential discussion will be
Missile Defense. To a round of applause she said that
Poland's "possible security concerns must be addressed,"
adding that any added infrastructure must be "conducive to
our joint security." She also mentioned the desirability of
"cutting edge technology transfers" as part of the F-16
off-set program, and called on increased Polish-American
youth exchanges.
5. In the follow-on debate and questioning, Pawel Zalewski,
the Law and Justice (PiS) head of the Sejm's Foreign Policy
Committee, urged all members of the Sejm to agree to reach a
consensus on three critical issues to Poland's foreign
policy: Missile Defense, relations with Germany and the
voting system within the European Union. On the last
subject, Fotyga said that Poland should not rush to a
decision and that a Constitutional Treaty was not
"indispensable."
6. Opposition critics jumped on Fotyga's discussion of
missile defense. Civic Platform's Bronislaw Komorowski
complained that Secretary of Defense Gates issued an
invitation to the Russians to inspect any missile sites
constructed in Poland. He also raised the failed effort by
PM Kaczynski to overfly Iraq to travel to the Gulf, and said
that Poland had not gained enough in return for its
participation in the Iraq and Afghan missions. Government
coalition partners Samoobrona (SO) and the League of Polish
Families (LPR) questioned some aspects of Fotyga's speech.
SO's Mateusz Piskorski said that "real partnership" with the
United States was desirable, but noted "a striking,
WARSAW 00001097 002.2 OF 002
unbalanced approach." He cited U.S. visa policy, a favorite
whipping horse, as an example of unequal treatment. LPR's
Janusz Dobrosz said his party was against MD, called on
Poland's withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and
said that the current partnership with the United States
found Poland in a "subordinate" position, inherited from
previous governments. A representative from the Democratic
Left Alliance (SLD) harrangued Fotyga for what she called
Poland's inept foreign policy.
7. (SBU) Comment: Fotyga's statements on Missile Defense
track with what the Embassy has heard privately with GOP
officials about linking Poland's broader security concerns to
their negotiations over constructing missile defense
interceptor sites in Poland. In the polarized poltical
climate in Poland, it is not surprising that the opposition
would counter any positive statements about Polish-U.S.
relations with reserve or complaints. However, it is notable
that opposition parties, especially PO, are playing to public
misgivings about MD. Fotyga did little to improve Poland's
chilly relations with Germany and Russia.
ASHE