embassy events 2009

U.S. and Polish SOFA Negotiations in Warsaw

18 August 2009

The U.S. delegation arrived in Warsaw on Monday August 17, for the ninth round of SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) negotiations.  The U.S. team is headed by a new lead negotiator, Kurt Amend, who is the Special Advisor on Security Negotiations and Agreements in the State Department’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs.  Before assuming his new duties, Mr. Amend was Consul General at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. A Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is an agreement between a country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country. The SOFA is intended to clarify the terms under which the foreign military is allowed to operate. Typically, purely military issues such as the locations of bases and access to facilities are covered by separate agreements. The SOFA is more concerned with the legal issues associated with military individuals and property. This may include issues like entry and exit into the country, tax liabilities, postal services, or employment terms for host-country nationals, but the most contentious issues are civil and criminal jurisdiction over the bases.