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