Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage of Strategic Dialogues between Poland and the U.S. on September 16 in Jurata, on the Hel Peninsula.
Deputy Secretary Armitage paid courtesy calls on President Kwasniewski and Foreign Minister Cimoszewicz and held a joint news conference with Deputy Foreign Minister Rotfeld in Warsaw September 17.
The discussions covered global issues - like transatlantic relations, the Middle East, Iraq, Russia, and military and economic cooperation - as well as various bilateral topics, such as scientific and technological exchanges, visas and regional politics.
"We came to seek advice on how to better improve our relationships with Europe, as well as to explain ourselves, at least our points of view in various parts of the world," said Dep. Sec. Armitage at the news conference with Deputy Foreign Minister Rotfeld. [full transcript]
The U.S.-Polish Strategic Dialogue is a concept that Secretary Armitage proposed in March of last year, along the lines of similar dialogues with other major allies, such as the U.K., Japan and Australia. These discussions are designed to be a frank exchange on a variety of topics.
Dep. Sec. Armitage said that one of his goals was to privately and publicly thank Poland for its courageous support in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also expressed condolences for the recent loss of three Polish soldiers in Iraq.
The Deputy Secretary was in Poland at the end of a five-country visit to Europe which also included stops in Norway, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
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