U.S.-POLAND STRATEGIC COOPERATION - RESPONSE TO

UNCLAS STATE 004079 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR MASS MCAP PL SUBJECT: U.S.-POLAND STRATEGIC COOPERATION - RESPONSE TO POLAND'S NON-PAPER ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Post is requested to provide to the appropriate officials the text in paragraph 3 as the U.S. response to the Polish Memorandum on Strategic Cooperation. The text of the original Polish memorandum is included for reference in paragraph 4. ¶2. (U) Background: On November 7, Polish Ambassador Kupiecki presented A/S Fried with a proposal on U.S.-Polish strategic cooperation. The text included in paragraph 3 below is the U.S. response to the Polish memorandum. ¶3. BEGIN TEXT OF U.S. MEMORANDUM MEMORANDUM ON U.S.-POLISH STRATEGIC COOPERATION The United States shares Poland's satisfaction with the signing of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Poland Concerning the Deployment of Ground-Based Ballistic Missile Defense Interceptors in the Territory of the Republic of Poland, as well as the issuance of accompanying Declaration on Strategic Cooperation, as expressed in the Polish Memorandum of November 7, 2008. The prospective Missile Defense (MD) deployment constitutes one element of our broader strategic partnership and the extensive security cooperation - both bilateral and multilateral - between our governments. In addition to our well established security cooperation dating back nearly 20 years, the United States and Poland are negotiating a bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to supplement the NATO SOFA, cooperating on the modernization of the Polish Armed Forces, exploring enhanced economic, scientific and industrial cooperation, deploying and operating jointly in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world and otherwise working to support and improve international security. The Strategic Dialogue (SD) launched in September 2004 established an ongoing mechanism for high-level consultations on the full range of bilateral issues. The Strategic Cooperation Consultative Group (SCCG) began work in February 2008 and was included in the Declaration on Strategic Cooperation issued in August 2008. The Declaration on Strategic Cooperation also established the High Level Defense Group (HLDG) as a forum for DOD-MOD consultations on a wide range of issues. Following on the Polish proposal, the United States therefore envisions the following structure for and relationship between the SD, SCCG and HLDG, subject to further consultations and approval by the incoming administration. STRATEGIC DIALOGUE The United States agrees with Poland that the Strategic Dialogue should serve as a forum for regular political consultations concerning a broad scope of current issues. It should be co-chaired by the senior officials from the U.S. Department of State and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with participation as appropriate from other ministries, departments or agencies on both sides. (The question of participation by members of either state's legislative branch, or by individuals or institutions outside of government, would have to be addressed separately.) The SD should ideally meet on an annual basis, with each meeting focused on one agreed broad topic (e.g. new NATO Strategic Concept, Russia) in all its facets and details. For the United States, the Assistant Secretary for European Affairs would chair this group. The State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs would serve as the U.S. coordinating body for the SD. The United States agrees that it would be appropriate for the Departm ent of America of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to serve as the coordinating institution on the Polish side; the Polish side will assign the appropriate official as its chair. The United States believes that the establishment of a working group on Energy Security should fall under the auspices of the SD. The United States recognizes the issue as a high priority both in our bilateral and multilateral cooperation. This Working Group could also usefully interact with the existing Commercial Dialogue managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Polish Ministry of Economy. STRATEGIC COOPERATION CONSULTATIVE GROUP The SCCG should serve as a forum for consultations between the two governments on security topics and defense cooperation. The United States agrees that the SCCG should support implementation of the Declaration on Strategic Cooperation, missile defense agreement, supplemental SOFA, BMD Framework Agreement, and other related implementing agreements. The SCCG should be a forum for discussing defense cooperation between the U.S. and Poland. It should be co-chaired on the U.S. side by the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and on the Polish side by the Under Secretary of State from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with participation as appropriate from other ministries, departments or agencies. The SCCG should meet annually. The SCCG will include a Working Group on Political Military Cooperation which will cover issues related to defense cooperation and trade between the U.S. and Poland. This group will be chaired for the U.S. by the Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs. Other SCCG working groups, co-chaired by representatives of the appropriate institutions from each side, could meet as appropriate. A Non-Proliferation Working Group (NPWG) and Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) should fall under the auspices of the SCCG. The NPWG would be led on the U.S. side by the State Department's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. The CTWG would be led on the U.S. side by the Office of the State Department's Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism. HIGH LEVEL DEFENSE GROUP The High Level Defense Group (HLDG) will serve as a channel of dialogue between the U.S. Department of Defense and the Polish Ministry of Defense. The HLDG would be co-chaired by a U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense and the appropriate counterpart from the Polish Ministry of Defense. The HLDG should also meet annually, ideally following the most recent Strategic Dialogue. It will also be a venue for discussing defense cooperation and defense-related issues as well as address operational issues of cooperation between the U.S. and Polish defense establishments. The structure of the HLDG will be determined through consultations between the U.S. DOD and the Polish MOD. TIMETABLE AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SD, SCCG AND HLDG The United States agrees with the goal of holding the next meeting of the SCCG if at all possible before or following the February NATO Defense Ministerial in Krakow. The next Strategic Dialogue could be held after February. END TEXT OF U.S. MEMORANDUM ¶4. (U) The text of the November 13 Polish Memorandum on Strategic Cooperation is included below for reference. BEGIN TEXT OF POLISH MEMORANDUM: MEMORANDUM ON POLISH-US STRATEGIC COOPERATION Poland expresses great satisfaction at the signing with the United States on August 20 2008 of the Agreement on the deployment in the RP of an interceptor base, constituting part of the American Missile Defense System (MD),and the adoption by the two states of the Declaration on Strategic Cooperation. We are confident that the deployment of elements of the MD on our territory will strengthen the security of Poland, the U.S. and the entire Transatlantic area, permitting effective defense against missile threats, including those involving weapons of mass destruction. Cooperation between Poland and the United States in the sphere of missile defense and modernization of the Polish Armed Forces, augmented with economic, scientific and industrial cooperation, opens a new chapter in the history of Polish-American strategic partnership. The enhanced cooperation between the two states points to the desirability of reviving the Polish-US formula of Strategic Dialog, launched in 2004, and the elaboration of an agenda for the Strategic Cooperation Consultative Group - SCCG. WITH REGARD TO THE STRATEGIC DIALOG, we propose the following: (1) The Strategic Dialog should serve as a forum for regular political consultations concerning a broad scope of current international security problems (security structure); (2) Every meeting of the Strategic Dialog, beside a short general session, should include detailed, multifaceted discussion on a selected topic agreed on by the Parties (e.g., situation within NATO, relations with Russia). That formula would permit a thorough debate on the given problem, its consequences, possible options for its resolution, potential initiatives, etc., (3) Strategic Dialog meetings should take place once a year; (4) The meetings would be held at a high level (MFA of the RP - U.S. State Department),and in the event of a concurrence with other visits - at an even higher level; (5) The composition of the delegations would be very flexible, providing for the inclusion of representatives of various government institutions, parliamentarians and NGO representatives. The coordinating institution of the Strategic Dialog on the Polish side would be the Department of America of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. WITH REGARD TO THE SCCG, the Polish side proposes the following: (1) The SCCG should be a forum for a regular exchange of views and consultations on matters relating to bilateral cooperation in the sphere of security and cooperation; (2) The SCCG should support the fulfillment of the Declaration on Strategic Cooperation, the Agreement on the MD base, and other accords (e.g., SOFA Supplemental, Framework agreement on economic, scientific and technological cooperation) and implementing agreements; (3) The SCCG should be a forum for reviewing and long-term programming of cooperation relating to the modernization of the Polish Armed Forces (assessment of reports by the High-Level Defense Group); (4) The SCCG should be a forum for supporting and determining the directions of development of economic and scientific-technological cooperation and defense industry cooperation; (5) SCCG meetings should take two or three times year (as needed); (6) SCCG meetings should take place at the level of under-secretaries of state of the MFA and the DOS and of the Ministry of National Defense of the RP and the U.S. Department of Defense; (7) The SCCG should remain a forum on an intergovernmental character. The Coordinating institution on the Polish side would be the Department of Security Policy of the MFA, in collaboration with the MOD. The Declaration on Strategic Cooperation of August 20, 2008, provides explicitly for the establishment of the HIGH-LEVEL DEFENSE GROUP (HLDG),as a sub-group of the SCCG. Furthermore, the Polish side proposes the establishment of the following bodies: (1) Working Group on WMD Nonproliferation, on the basis on the existent though inactive Group. It would ensure closer bilateral cooperation and better coordination in international forums, including the Krakow (PSI) Initiative. (2) Working Group on Terrorist Threats and Intelligence Cooperation: its establishment could take place after a possible absorption of the Group operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior and Administration and the U.S. Embassy in the RP (after prior consultations with both institutions). (3) Working group on scientific-technological, industrial and economic cooperation, including space cooperation: with regard to the Framework Agreement on economic and scientific-technological cooperation, the Group could initially supports the process of the related negotiations and, subsequently, the implementation of the Agreement. It could also promote joint projects and facilitate contacts between research-development centers in the two countries. With regard to technological-industrial cooperation, the group would be tasked with deepening cooperation in the sphere of research and development, defense production and the eradication of possible obstacles encountered by the Polish and American defense industry companies. (4) Working group on energy security: the group could constitute a forum for detailed dialog with the US on the respective aspects of energy security. It could also provide consulting and support for Poland's diversification projects (e.g., in Central Asia and the Middle East),promotion of direct U.S. investments in Poland and joint ventures in third markets. TIMETABLE OF SCCG AND STRATEGIC DIALOGUE COOPERATION: Poland proposes that the next SCCG meeting be held between the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels in December 2008 and the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Krakow in February 2009. We want it to be devoted to an exchange of opinions and an attempt to elaborate the framework of future strategic cooperation, based on the Declaration on Strategic Cooperation of August 20 2008. Furthermore, we feel that a Strategic Dialog meeting should be held next year and be devoted to the new strategic concept of NATO. END TEXT OF POLISH MEMORANDUM RICE