MISSILE DEFENSE: POLAND'S PLAN FOR JUNE 25 TALKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 001430 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOHN C ROOD, PM/SNA AMBASSADOR ROBERT G LOFTIS OSD FOR DASD BRIAN GREEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2017 TAGS: MARR PREL PL SUBJECT: MISSILE DEFENSE: POLAND'S PLAN FOR JUNE 25 TALKS IN WASHINGTON Classified By: DCM Kenneth M. Hilllas for reasons 1.4b and d. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On June 21, Robert Kupiecki, Director of Security Policy, Polish MFA, briefed DCM and Poloff on Poland's plan for the June 25 Missile Defense (MD) negotiations in Washington D.C. Kupiecki cautioned that, despite earlier indications, Poland would not present counter drafts of the MD agreement (or the SOFA supplemental),due to delays in the inter-ministerial clearance process. However, he said the Polish delegation would provide some "written comments" on the MD agreement and a non-paper, that he shared with DCM, on Polish-U.S. security cooperation. He shared a non-paper on Cooperation on National Security (emailed to ISN, OSD and EUR) that contains the elements of political, defense and economic/industrial/scientific cooperation that Poland would like to see in a third agreement. Kupiecki noted that A/S Rood's letter to U/S Waszczykowski, Poland's lead MD negotiator, was the right way to begin ongoing direct communication with Waszczykowski to break official silence on Slupsk, the proposed site for MD in Poland. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Although unable to deliver Polish MD or SOFA counter drafts at the June 25 session, Kupiecki said the Poles would shre some written, as well as further oral, comments on our MD draft. He conveyed a four page non-paper on Cooperation on national Security. It is in line with the ideas expressed by the Poles in the first round, and aims to strengthen NATO, bilateral politco-military cooperation and the improve Poland's military operational capabilities. Completed Polish drafts of the MD Agreement and proposed bilateral security cooperation agreement should be ready by late July. In response to the DCM, Kupiecki gave assurances that there should be no surprises related to MD when President Kaczynski visits Washington on July 16. ¶3. (C) Given the complexity of Polish internal coordination between rounds, Waszczykowski can be expected to suggest that the next round occur in early August, according to Kupiecki. On the Polish counter draft to our SOFA supplemental, he said, "It will take some time." Kupiecki noted that we might find the Polish process slow, but the GoP wanted to ensure that documents presented in the negotiations were fully vetted with all relevant ministries, avoiding the risk of future rework. He noted that the whole process is very "centrally controlled." According to Kupiecki, Waszczykowski has indicated that one day of discussions should suffice for this round, although talks in the second morning are not precluded if the negotiators view this as neededt Finally, he noted that the Polish side will have a needed team meeting the evening of June 24 in the Polish Embassy. ¶4. (C) On Poland's failure to officially announce Slupsk as the proposed site for MD, Kupiecki admitted, "I don't understand." He proffered that Polish authorities do not want to appear to be conceding that the interceptors will be based in Slupsk when an agreement has not yet been concluded. He stressed that the Polish side would want any site survey work to be done with minimal public attention, which is another problem given the kind of work that must be done. He suggested that A/S Rood press U/S Waszczykowski on this point, and that the Embassy should follow-up with MoD after the negotiations to see if there is a way ahead without an "official" announcement. ¶5. (C) Comment: We can expect the Poles to press for U.S. buy-in to their non-paper on security cooperation. The MD talks will occur three weeks before the July 16 meeting of President Bush and Kaczynski, and there is a clear link between the two events in the Polish minds. The Presidential Chancellery has made clear that President Kaczynski intends to bring with him some "concrete initiatives" related to MD to discuss. The non-paper provides some further signs of Polish thinking, but is rather open-ended. A full discussion at the talks will be needed to ascertain the scope of Polish expectations on security cooperation, and to determine areas that Kaczynski may want to pursue when he visits Washington. ASHE