Prime Minister Belka will ask President Bush to end visas for Poles

Prime Minister Marek Belka begins a three-day working visit to the U.S. tomorrow, with the focus on easing of visa proceedures for Poles traveling to USA, military cooperation in Iraq and implementation of the offset program associated with the purchase of F-16 jets. On Monday Belka will have breakfast with representatives of Lockheed Martin, which produces the F-16s and later he will meet with President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. According to deputy Foreign Minister Adam Daniel Rotfeld, the strategic objective with regard to visas will be to abolish them in a few years' time. He points out, however, that in view of the threat of terrorism "one can hardly imagine a worse moment" to hold talks on this matter. (Rzeczposplita, p.A5) T.J.