POLAND-CODEL NELSON WITH MINISTER KOMOROWSKI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000694 SIPDIS EUR, PM, H E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2019 TAGS: MARR OREP PGOV PL PREL RS SUBJECT: POLAND-CODEL NELSON WITH MINISTER KOMOROWSKI REF: WARSAW 643 Classified By: Ambassador Ashe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY. Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski addressed several issues with Senator Nelson to include the importance of the Declaration ON Strategic Cooperation, the pending decision ON Missile Defense, Patriot rotations in Poland as a sign of our commitment to their defense modernization and, in particular, air defense. They also spoke of the importance of NATO, the US-Polish strategic partnership, and engagement with Russia. END SUMMARY. Declaration ON Strategic Cooperation and Missile Defense Decision The Poles attach great importance to the Declaration ON Strategic Cooperation and see it as a confirmation that strategic dialogue is important for both the US and Poland. For Poland, such cooperation with the US is one of the three pillars (NATO, EU, US) of Poland,s security and defense strategy. All are complementary and Missile Defense (MD) fits well in all three. Minister Komorowski views closer cooperation between the US and Poland and the Czech Republic with regard to MD as the starting point for future NATO missile defense cooperative efforts. Poland, as a border nation of the NATO Alliance, appreciates the special obligation that geographic position holds and Poland is ready to support and defend its Allies. Poland is prepared to follow through ON the Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement and is just waiting for a US decision, hoping it will be a positive one. He commented that all of us are threatened by rogue states in the Middle East and the Iranian threat, and we need to support each other. Additionally, he believed it was possible to find a way in which Russia is willing and able to contribute to missile defense efforts. The Declaration is also important in the area of support to the modernization of Poland,s Armed Forces. The total professionalization of their military is now in its final stages with the last conscripts joining in December 2008 and finishing their service in August 2009. Regarding the Declaration,s commitment to modernization, improvements to Poland,s Air Defense system is one of the most important. The Patriot deployment to Poland is just the first step in the larger framework of Poland,s air defense modernization. Poland,s Perspective ON NATO Minister Komorowski characterized NATO membership as being important to Poland, but that the relationship with the US, the "alliance within the alliance" was extremely important. Poland considers itself one of the strongest advocates of the EuroAtlantic partnership and a strong US role in NATO. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is the most important aspect to Poland. Article 5 symbolizes the principle of solidarity, something the Poles know a lot about, and believe to be critically important in the field of international relations. Afghanistan is an example of that solidarity and out-of-area operations are important not just for Polish security, but as a tool to keep NATO secure. Minister Komorowski acknowledged that Poland,s presence in Afghanistan is only possible with US support and, again reflecting ON Poland,s role in NATO and the concept of solidarity, the Poles are also supporting smaller neighbors, exemplified by their role in air policing over the Baltics. They are hoping to use the F-16s in the air policing role in 2010, but definitely no later than 2011. Minister Komorowski added that they were extremely pleased with the F-16 purchase, although they were not so happy in the area of offsets. NATO Enlargement On NATO enlargement, Minister Komorwski considered it the correct step and hoped to see Ukraine in NATO as soon as they are ready, although acknowledging this was not a simple issue. Poland feels both a duty and an obligation to support Ukraine in their quest for NATO membership just as other nations helped Poland to get into NATO. Over the balance of their 10-year membership in NATO, Minister Komorowski characterized the experience as a positive one. He went ON to say, that NATO membership should be a decision between that candidate nation and the NATO Alliance and not involve any "third party" (read Russia). Working with Russia ON Missile Defense Senator Nelson commented that there were skeptics who suggested MD would cause problems with Russia, whereas he WARSAW 00000694 002 OF 002 feels that missile defense provides an opportunity to bring like minds together. ON MD and Russia, Minister Komorwski suggested that the worst thing that could happen would be a decision to abandon it because of Russia. If there were to be a negative US decision ON MD following US talks with Russia, Poles and others in Central and Eastern Europe would see that Russia has a voice in stopping the US and that would leave a "disastrous impression in Poland." Poland wants to be ON good terms with Russia, but Russia cannot stop us from doing what is in our best interest. Polish society would find that very difficult to understand. President Obama with meet with Putin and, although good cooperation is a must, MD must not be held hostage to Russian negotiations. Minister Komorowski said there would be no difficulty in ratifying BMDA, but it is of course important that the US be 100 percent sure of its intent to proceed. Regarding Polish relations with Russia, the Poles want to have good relations with Russia but do not want their own security to be contingent ON US relations with Russia. He suggested that Poland was in the best security situation it had been in over the past 300 years, a position that they always believed in their hearts and minds would eventually be achieved in spite of decisions at Yalta that left them ON the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. He repeated the Polish desire to continue with the Missile Defense system in Poland as well as continuing to fulfill the Declaration with respect to strategic cooperation and modernization of their air defense of which the Patriot battery is a start. Regarding a Patriot purchase, he hoped that would occur sooner than later, but certainly after the financial crisis. In the meantime, the deployment of a Patriot battery to Poland was a significant milestone in the Declaration. Toward that end, he noted that SOFA Supplemental negotiations are in their final phase and are ON track. While acknowledging that a SOFA Supplemental was necessary to a long-term presence of US troops ON Polish soil, he noted that US troops currently conduct training and exercises in Poland under the protection of the NATO SOFA. Senator Nelson,s Message Senator Nelson thanked the Poles for their significant contributions to Afghanistan, describing the mission as important to our mutual security. He understands the need to resolve the MD issue and noted the positive aspect to the continuity in the US government with Secretary of Defense Gates and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen. It was now just a matter of adjusting timetables and expectations. Unfortunately, Moscow,s rhetoric raised questions about whether MD was really against them which resulted in a mischaracterization of the MD site in Europe. Of course, it was never directed at Russia, rather at the threat coming from Iran, and as that threat does not diminish, MD becomes even more necessary. At the same time, if Russia were to acknowledge the defensive nature of the system, that could serve to reduce the rhetoric. Senator Nelson agreed with Minister Komorowski in that he also saw Poland in control of its own destiny and the US intended to be part of Poland,s security, as a strategic partner both bilaterally and through NATO. Mutual protection through NATO was the cornerstone of the military alliance. He, too, was optimistic about the future of NATO, but noted the need for all NATO members to contribute forces to the maximum extent possible in order to avoid a multi-tiered NATO membership. Senator Nelson also reaffirmed the US commitment to Poland,s defense modernization and military professionalization efforts, having gained a great deal of experience over the years. Minister Komorowski concluded the meeting suggesting that US boots ON the ground was important not only for Poland, but was a symbol of something much more than mere presence. He viewed the US military presence in Europe as crucial for the whole continent. He hoped that Senator Nelson shared the view that Poland stood ready to not just to coordinate with the US ON European security matters, but to provide real cooperation in Europe and elsewhere. ASHE