POLAND SUPPORTS EXTENSION OF EUFOR MISSION IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 001150 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CE AND EUR/RPM E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV EU BK PL SUBJECT: POLAND SUPPORTS EXTENSION OF EUFOR MISSION IN BOSNIA REF: STATE 118244 Classified By: Political Counselor F. Daniel Sainz for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Poland favors UN Security Council renewal of the EUFOR mandate in Bosnia. Tomasz Lekarski, Deputy Director of the MFA Security Policy Department, said he did not expect any major obstacles to renewal when UNSC considers the issue November 18. However, he described the EU's position on EUFOR as "equally divided" between members who want to keep the current force structure and those who prefer transforming EUFOR's role as a positive signal to Bosnians that they must assume greater responsibility for their own security. Lekarski placed Poland in the latter camp, but he conceded that political instability in Bosnia remained worrisome. He predicted that the GAERC's discussion today would be inconclusive. ¶2. (C) Lekarski volunteered that a parliamentary delegation from the Republika Srpska region of Bosnia was in Warsaw today for meetings with legislative counterparts and MFA officials. He said Polish officials intended to press home the message that all ethnic groups in Bosnia, but especially Bosnian Serbs, had to work harder to foster inter-ethnic cooperation and political stability. He said this is the essential foundation for Bosnia's full integration with Europe and the broader trans-Atlantic community. FEINSTEIN