ACCESSION NUMBER:317433
FILE ID:EUR308
DATE:12/15/93
TITLE:POLAND OUTLINES CASE FOR JOINING NATO (12/15/93)
TEXT:*93121508.EUR
*EUR308   12/15/93 *

POLAND OUTLINES CASE FOR JOINING NATO
(Wants more information about Partnership for Peace)  (440)
By David Pitts
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- Polish democracy "is now stable enough" to warrant membership
of NATO, Andrzej Olechowski, the country's foreign minister, said December
15.

Speaking at the National Press Club, Olechowski said Poland is not only
doing well politically, but also is achieving a free market economy.
"Poland has succeeded in mobilizing economic growth," he remarked.  "Over 6
percent of the people now derive their income from the private sector, or
from mixed sources"; the growth rate is 4.5 percent per annum, he added.

Moreover, the new Poland has restored human rights, Olechowksi noted.  He
said his country "is quite proud of the fullness of the restoration."  For
all these reasons, he said that Poland deserves membership in both NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the European Union (EU).  "Our
fear is that, if we don't get into these institutions, we may fall into a
gray zone, a situation in which Poland might be a temptation to its mighty
neighbors," he said.

As far as the Partnership for Peace initiative is concerned, the program
offered as an interim step to membership in NATO, Olechowski said that "it
can lead us to NATO, or it could lead us to that gray zone.  We believe it
will open us to NATO membership, but it is not yet concrete enough," he
remarked.

Asked if his meeting with Secretary of State Warren Christopher December 14
made him more or less worried about this issue, Olechowksi responded,
"certainly not more worried; I presented our case.  I think it was
understood."

He said that Christopher gave him no time frame for Poland being able to
join NATO.  "It will depend on bilateral programs of cooperation," and
other factors, he explained.

Concerning the results of the Russian elections December 12, Olechowski
sounded a note of caution, especially about the unexpected success of the
party of far right nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky.  "We are worried about
Zhirinovsky's statements that have proved popular with a large segment of
the Russian people," he noted.  He speculated that President Yeltsin "will
have to accommodate these views to some extent."  The election results
"were an unpleasant surprise," he added.

Asked about reported connections between Zhirinovsky and right wing
extremists in Germany, Zhirinovsky said this in no way affects Poland's
friendship with Germany because there are extremists in all countries.  He
said Poland "does not see any possible threat" from Germany.  Germany is
"an ideal neighbor," he said.

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