POLES WILL NOT MEET WITH HAMAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 000296 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PL SUBJECT: POLES WILL NOT MEET WITH HAMAS REF: SECSTATE 27174 Classified By: Polcouns Mary T. Curtin, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Polcouns met February 23 with Krzysztof Plominski, MFA Director for Africa and the Middle East, to deliver reftel demarche on meetings with Hamas. Plominski said that Hamas had not made a request to send a delegation, and that Poland would not accept such a Hamas delegation even if asked. Plominski said he did not expect Hamas to approach Poland, and that "they know whom to contact in the EU," for a friendlier reception. He noted there are some countries in the EU arguing for a reconsideration of EU policies and for greater flexibility in dealing with Hamas, and that Hamas and Iran will likely be the focus of the February 27 GAERC meeting. Poland's position will be that the EU should wait and see how Hamas behaves before taking any action. There were solid reasons for listing Hamas as a terrorist organization, and this listing cannot change unless Hamas changes. ¶2. (C) Plominski added that Poland, for its part, has suspended proceedings leading to the signing of a development cooperation agreement with the Palestinian Authority. The agreement is ready, but Poland has decided it will not even discuss modalities with the PA at this time. Plominski then expressed his personal concern about how the international community should deal with Hamas in order to address the needs of the Palestinian people, and said that perhaps there should be some flexibility in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis or even further growth in extremism. PolCouns agreed the situation was complex, but reiterated the importance of Hamas recognizing Israel's' right to exist, renouncing terrorism, and abiding by the PA's previous agreements and obligations. KULAKOWSKI