POLAND AS UKRAINE'S ADVOCATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 000578


SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV UP PL
SUBJECT: POLAND AS UKRAINE'S ADVOCATE

Classified By: Political Counselor Colin Cleary for reasons 1.4 (b,d)

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Ukrainian officials regard Poland as a strong
bilateral partner, Ukraine's primary advocate in the European
Union, and as a key supporter of Ukraine's NATO aspirations.
Poland and Ukraine maintain close contacts at all levels:
Presidential, Prime Ministerial and via their Foreign
Ministries. This close relationship has allowed Kyiv and
Warsaw to work out border issues and to take on the challenge
of co-hosting the EURO 2012 European soccer championships.
End Summary.


LEADERS IN SYNC
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2. (C) President Yushchenko enjoys a close relationship with
Polish President Kaczynski. Ukrainian MFA Poland Desk
Officer Oleksiy Platonov told us that in addition to the
eleven official bilateral meeting between Yushchenko and
Kaczynski in the last year, the presidents also hold frequent
unofficial phone calls without the involvement of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) or presidential staff. He
said that the relationship between Yushchenko and Kaczynski
extends beyond similar policy and world views and that their
families are close friends. Platonov said that one
unfortunate side effect of the Yushchenko-Kaczynski
relationship was that the MFA was often left out of the loop
because many high level discussions happen informally.


3. (C) Although not as close as Yushchenko and Kaczynski,
Prime Minister Tymoshenko and Polish PM Tusk are also in
frequent contact and enjoy a good working relationship.
Bogoslaw Gertruda from the Polish Embassy in Kyiv told us
that Tusk sees Tymoshenko as an action-oriented leader who
can get things done. The two governments have a created a
bilateral commission including more than 17 subcommissions
focused on specific topics, such as extending the Odesa-Brody
oil pipeline, trade, investment, electricity, and cemeteries.
In December 2008 the Ukrainian and Polish MFAs held a
ministry to ministry forum with ten directors from each side
discussing a broad swath of bilateral topics. Serhiy
Mishchenko, MFA Director for Central Europe, commented to us
that this meeting underscored the depth and institutional
nature of Ukrainian-Polish cooperation.


UKRAINE'S EUROPEAN ADVOCATE
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4. (C) Ukrainian leaders regard Poland as a strong advocate
for Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO.
Platonov said that only Poland is willing to stand up to
other EU countries on Ukraine's behalf, especially when it
involves Russia. He said that Kyiv sees Poland as its
primary champion for EU membership and as second only to the
US as an advocate for Ukrainian accession to NATO. Platonov
said that the shared history of Poland and Ukraine of "war
and subjugation" made their leaders see the world through
similar optics.


5. (C) Warsaw is committed to Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic
integration not only because Kyiv is a close ally, but
because it is good for Poland's economy and national
security, according to Gertruda. He said that the biggest
external roadblocks to closer ties between Ukraine and the EU
were the close relations Germany and France maintain with
Russia. Gertruda lamented that "Ukraine is its own worst
enemy" when it comes to Euro-Atlantic integration. Political
infighting and "undemocratic" actions by its leaders
frequently undermine Polish advocacy on Ukraine's behalf and
give ample ammunition to Kyiv's harshest critics.


WORKING TOGETHER ON BORDER AGREEMENT AND VISAS
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6. (C) After Poland's December 2007 entry into the EU
Schengen visa zone, Ukrainians lost access to easily obtained
free Polish visas, according to Gertruda. This was
especially difficult for Ukrainian residents living near the
Polish border who often depended on shuttle trading or who
have family living on the Polish side of the border.
Although, Ukrainians now have to meet more stringent
standards and pay 60 Euros for a Schengen zone visa, the
Polish visa process is considered the most "humane" of the EU
countries, according to Platonov. Poland is committed to
easing the EU visa process for Ukrainians, according to

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Gertruda, and is pushing for simplifying Schengen visa
requirements for certain Ukrainians, such as businessmen and
students. Gertruda told us that in addition to their
consulates in Kyiv, Lviv, and Kharkiv, Poland had broken
ground on a new consulate in Vinnitsya and is moving forward
with opening a consulate in Sevastopol, making it the first
EU country to open a consulate in Crimea.


7. (C) The Polish parliament recently forwarded to President
Kaczynski an agreement to allow visa free travel for
residents in a 30km buffer zone on either size of the
Ukrainian-Polish border. Gertruda said that Ukraine had been
pushing for the zone to be extended to 50km to include the
city of Lviv, but that Poland had been unable to overcome
European Commission (EC) opposition to modify the 30km EU
standard. He said Yushchenko and Kaczynski decided to move
forward with the initial 30km agreement to improve the
situation immediately, but to continue to push for special EC
approval to extend the border zone. After Kaczynski's
expected signature and European Commission ratification,
Ukrainians can receive documentation from Poland that will
allow them visa free access across the Polish border,
according to Gertruda. He said that close cooperation
between Kyiv and Warsaw had enabled the border agreement to
progress quickly, in contrast to Ukraine's stalled border
agreement with Romania.


CO-HOSTING EURO 2012
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8. (SBU) The joint bid of Ukraine and Poland to hold the Euro
2012 European soccer championships highlights the close
cooperation between the two countries, according to Platonov.
Gertruda said that PMs Tusk and Tymoshenko have set up a
EURO 2012 bilateral working group to focus on coordinating
cross border infrastructure projects and to work out venue
changes if any of the host cities fall behind on their
pledged construction. Although the Union of European
Football Associations (UEFA),European soccer's governing
body, has publicly warned Ukraine and Poland that delays in
the construction of stadiums, hotels, and infrastructure
could result in the championship being moved to a new host,
Gertruda said that UEFA's most recent private assessments
showed Ukraine and Poland were "on target" to meet
construction deadlines.


COMMENT
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9. (C) The close and productive bilateral relationship
between Poland and Ukraine is a significant example of
historical reconciliation. Poland has managed to help mentor
Ukraine without prompting notable resentment. While
Yushchenko's political popularity is at an all-time low and
his remaining time in office likely measured in months, we
judge the bilateral ties forged at all levels to be deep
enough and institutional enough to endure.
TAYLOR