POLISH NSA REQUESTS MEETING ON BELARUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 003423 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2015 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV BO UP PL SUBJECT: POLISH NSA REQUESTS MEETING ON BELARUS REF: WARSAW 3387 Classified By: DCM Kenneth Hillas, reasons 1.4b,d ¶1. (C) Following up on reftel conversations concerning our interest in close coordination with Poland on Belarus, Polish National Security Advisor Jerzy Bahr has requested a meeting with the Ambassador in advance of a planned September 29 meeting in Kiev with Bahr's Belarusian counterpart. The Ambassador will meet with Bahr September 27 to review Bahr's approach to his meeting with Belarusian Security Council Secretary Neviglas and Ukrainian FM Tarasyuk. Although we SIPDIS expect that Poles will maintain their red lines on meetings with high-ranking Belarusian officials, especially Lukashenko, we will use this meeting to underscore U.S. concerns about potentially unhelpful initiatives. This conversation may be particularly valuable given reported Ukrainian efforts (reftel) to encourage a more forward-leaning approach toward contacts with Lukashenko. ¶2. (C) Unless otherwise instructed, the Ambassador will raise the following points with Bahr. -- We appreciate your interest in speaking with us in advance of your meeting with your Belarusian counterpart in Kiev. Close coordination has been critical to the progress we have achieved in promoting democracy elsewhere, and should be the cornerstone of our efforts in Belarus. -- As you know, we believe that meetings with senior Belarusian officials, particularly with Belarusian President Lukashenko, would undermine our joint efforts to promote democracy in Belarus and would only serve to give legitimacy to this repressive regime. We understand that some have been advocating opening such lines of communication, and we strongly encourage you to maintain your policy against high-level contacts. -- It is essential that the international community remain united and deliver the same message to the Belarusians, and deny the regime any opening to pick and choose among us. -- Similarly, we hope that we can continue to work closely together to coordinate assistance to promote democracy in Belarus, including support for political parties, civil society and independent media. -- (Depending on the outcome of September 23 donor coordination meeting in Brussels) Among our shared priorities for assistance is the establishment of independent Belarusian external broadcasting. We urge the Polish government to move quickly to help ensure that there is a Poland-based project to which we can all contribute funding and other resources. ¶3. (U) End proposed points. Ashe