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Polish FM discusses Smolensk wreckage in US visit

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 19.04.2017 09:32
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski on Wednesday started a trip to the US where he will discuss the recovery of the wreckage of the Polish presidential plane which crashed in 2010.
Photo: Pexels.com (CC0)Photo: Pexels.com (CC0)

The visit is Waszczykowski's first official bilateral visit to Washington since Donald Trump became President of the United States.

According to a ministry spokesman, Waszczykowski will meet US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday. The agenda of the visit which ends on Thursday also includes talks with President Trump’s advisors and representatives of leading Washington think tanks.

Waszczykowski plans to brief US authorities on Poland’s priorities. The aim of the visit is also to discuss the prospects of allied cooperation within NATO and bilateral cooperation in such matters as security, economy, energy, and innovation.

Waszczykowski told Polish public broadcaster TVP last week that during his talks with Tillerson in Washington he intends to raise subjects such as the investigation into the Smolensk plane crash, including Polish efforts to recover the presidential plane wreckage from Russia.

“I will definitely discuss the Smolensk crash issue and our diplomatic battles to return the wreckage, and I will ask for assistance,” he said.

The ministry spokesman told the PAP news agency that the visit to the United States “proves the high intensity of political dialogue” between the two countries in the context of “the particular challenges to the regional security of Central and Eastern Europe.”

Waszczykowski’s previous visit to the United States took place in the second half of March; its main objective was to participate in a meeting of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS and the promotion of the Polish bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2018-2019.

A total of 96 people including president Lech Kaczyński died in the plane crash on 10 April 2010. (rg/pk)

Source: PAP, MSZ

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