NAC COMMUNIQUE: POLAND SUPPORTS STRONG LANGUAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 003954 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2015 TAGS: PARM PREL KCFE PL NATO SUBJECT: NAC COMMUNIQUE: POLAND SUPPORTS STRONG LANGUAGE REF: STATE 217326 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, A.I., KEN HILLAS, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) (C) Charge delivered reftel demarche to Witold Waszczykowski, Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, December 1, emphasizing that it would be a mistake to soften the language on Russia's 1999 Istanbul Summit commitments on Moldova, and urging Poland to take a strong stance against efforts by other European countries to do so. MFA Americas Director Henryk Szlajfer, who was also present at the meeting (and was previously Poland's Ambassador to the OSCE),urged us to keep up the pressure on the EU presidency during the Ljubljana meeting so that there was no EU softening of the language. Waszczykowski said that Poland fully agrees with the U.S. on the importance of tough language, but added that there is not support in the EU at this moment for efforts to push back on Russia. Poland has had a hard time convincing other EU states not to soften the language on the Istanbul commitments. Poland is often portrayed as "Russophobic", he said, when it seeks tough language on Russia. Charge acknowledged Poland's difficult situation, but urged that Poland continue to press to maintain a tough NAC text, even as Poland's new government seeks a constructive relationship with Russia. HILLAS