FM FOTYGA OUTLINES POLISH FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES

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