CLUSTER MUNITIONS: POLES WANT TO COUNTER OSLO

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 002368 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR PM/WRA KATHERINE BAKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2017 TAGS: PARM PREL NATO SUBJECT: CLUSTER MUNITIONS: POLES WANT TO COUNTER OSLO PROCESS ASAP REF: SECSTATE 164503 Classified By: Polcouns Mary T. Curtin for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In response to Poloff's deliver of reftel demarche, Andrzej Suda of the Security Policy Department at the MFA, underscored Poland's support for the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and urged immediate action to counter the growing momentum of the Oslo process. Suda noted that Oslo already had 84 participants and aimed to conclude a treaty banning cluster munitions by September 2008. He speculated that if the Oslo process culminated in a treaty, then Poland and other European states would face steadily increasing political pressure to comply with it and thereby abandon the CCW as a forum for dealing with cluster munitions. ¶2. (C) Suda urged unified NATO opposition with an argument based on Oslo's threat to "interoperability." He understood that since the Oslo process threatened to criminalize military cooperation with countries that use cluster munitions, it could hinder the interoperability of NATO forces. For example, if Poland were penalized because its forces cooperated with U.S. forces, who could use cluster munitions, would undermine the efforts of various NATO nations to work together in places like Afghanistan. He thought this might be the most effective argument against the Oslo process. ASHE