POLAND: MTCR PLENARY PARTICIPATION UNCERTAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 000798 SIPDIS FOR ISN/MTR E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2019 TAGS: MTCRE PARM PREL MNUC ETTC KSCA TSPA PINR PL SUBJECT: POLAND: MTCR PLENARY PARTICIPATION UNCERTAIN REF: STATE 80072 Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Craig M. Conway for Reasons 1 .4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Monika Lipert, First Secretary in the MFA's Nonproliferation and Disarmament Division told us it was uncertain whether the GOP would send a representative from Warsaw to participate in the November 9-13 Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) plenary in Rio. Due to increasingly tight budgetary constraints, Poland is considering a representative from its Embassy in Brazil. If that were the case, the Embassy representative would probably not have the expertise to give a substantive presentation at the information exchange. Lipert said Poland will likely decide in September who will attend and whether the representative will make a presentation. ¶2. (C) As the meeting ended, Lipert revealed that Lukasz Zielinski, the head of the MFA's Nonproliferation and Disarmament Division, will probably be posted to Poland's UN Mission in New York at the beginning of 2010. Zielinski--who speaks fluent English--is expected to continue working on disarmament issues in New York, despite earlier assertions that he wanted to branch out. Lipert hinted that the leadership of the Security Department was reluctant to let Zielinski go because of his unparalleled knowledge on disarmament and nonproliferation issues. Zielinski is a close Embassy contact who participates actively in the PSI Operational Experts Group (OEG). He has built close ties to officials in other GOP agencies that handle PSI-related matters. It is not clear who will replace Zielinski in Warsaw. ASHE