US embassy cable - 05WARSAW3795

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 003795 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, PL, Polish Elections 
SUBJECT: NEW POLISH FOREIGN MINISTER EMPHASIZES IMPORTANCE 
OF RUSSIAN RELATIONS 
 
 
Classified By: POLCOUNS MARY T. CURTIN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
1. (C) During Ambassador's initial call, Poland's newly named 
Foreign Minister Stefan Meller said he would travel back to 
Moscow (where he served as Ambassador until his October 31 
appointment) on November 13 to arrange his move back to 
Warsaw, but also to meet with Foreign Minister Lavrov and, 
hopefully, President Vladimir Putin.  Meller said that a 
meeting with Putin would be "very important for the 
Polish-Russian dialogue," and would provide him "new 
elements" to discuss during his eventual visit to Washington. 
 The Ambassador noted there would be keen interest in any 
insights he could provide from his visit.  Meller added that 
he also attached great importance to the U.S.-Europe 
relationship, and said that Russia needed to be a "very, very 
important" element of the U.S.-Polish-European dialogue. 
"With your help," he said, "we will be able to move the right 
way and find balance" in those relationships. 
 
2.  (C)  The Ambassador emphasized that we greatly value 
Poland's views on these issues, and urged that Meller make 
plans for a visit to Washington as soon as possible, in part 
as a prelude to an early 2006 visit by incoming president 
Lech Kaczynski.  He added that a major concern of our is the 
question of Polish troop strength in Iraq.  The Ambassador 
noted that Defense Minister Radek Sikorski had told him the 
previous day (septel) that no political decision had yet been 
made, and repeated his request that concerns and decisions 
about Iraq be communicated in private discussions, rather 
than through the newspaper.  Meller indicated he took the 
point.  (Note:  The previous day, MFA Americas Director 
Henryk Szlajfer told DCM and PolCouns that he believed the 
government would decide to extend troops through the first 
half of 2006, but that no decision could be made before the 
November 10 vote of confidence.  End Note) 
 
3. (C)  Meller, has served as Ambassador to France and 
Russia, as well as Deputy Minister, and is a French historian 
by training.  As a young man, he was among a group of Jewish 
intellectuals who were prevented from working in their fields 
from 1968-1974, and spent many years writing for underground 
newspapers.  He spent a year teaching French history at Emory 
University in Atlanta, Georgia (1990-1991), and spoke good 
English.  He was relaxed and personable during the visit, but 
Szlajfer told us afterwards that Meller is battling with Law 
and Justice (PiS) leaders over pressure to name as Secretary 
of State a PiS member of parliament whom he finds 
unacceptable. 
ASHE