press conference by president of poland

 

President Lech Kaczyński of Poland said this afternoon that he hoped to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of several countries during his time at United Nations Headquarters to discuss his country’s peacekeeping efforts, among other matters.

Outlining those plans at a Headquarters press conference, where he was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Anna Fotyga and Under-Secretary of State Andrzej Krawczyk, he said they included discussions on the Middle East with French President Jacques Chirac.  Poland had strong ties with Israel, with members of the Jewish Diaspora still maintaining Polish ties.  A meeting with the French leader, therefore, presented an opportunity for an exchange of views between two countries holding “somewhat different positions” on the Middle East.  The President added that he had met several leading Israeli politicians during a recent visit to the Middle East, as well as Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Asked by a correspondent to respond to the Secretary-General’s view that Iraq was seen as “a disaster” by other leaders in the region, Mr. Kaczyński stressed the need for optimism, though he did not doubt Mr. Annan’s assessment.  “Most of the conflicts in the region do have a religious backdrop and, in a manner of speaking, occur within Islam.”  Bringing stability to Iraq might necessitate “other solutions”.

Mr. Kaczyński said he had met President Jalal Talabani of Iraq and that Polish troops would continue to serve in the country, where they commanded one of the divisions within the Multinational Force.

Asked by another correspondent whether he would stick to a decision to send troops to Afghanistan, even if it resulted in a split within his Government, the President said that, given his country’s active peacekeeping role around the world -- including in Iraq, Lebanon, the Golan Heights, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Balkans -- that decision should not have been unexpected, and the media’s treatment of the matter, as well as the controversy arising over it within the ruling coalition, was surprising.  Poland was due to hold elections on 12 November, which explained why the matter had been sensationalized.

In response to a question about a recent visit to the United States by Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, his twin brother, the President said the visit had been quite successful and that one of its results had been to reach a decision on the number of Polish troops to be sent to Iraq.

President Kaczyński said he would also meet Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway to discuss energy issues, President Branko Crvenkovski of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniaand Afghan leaders.

He said it was fitting that the next Secretary-General be from Central Europe since none had yet come from the subregion.  As such, Poland supported the Latvian candidate, President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.

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For information media • not an official record