US and Poland start work on improving the Polish army

The US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs met deputy Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski in Warsaw yesterday. The two politicians have formed four groups of experts, the task of which will be to define the potential threats to Poland's security, shortcomings in armament, the possibilities for the US to finance them and set the terms of the transfer of new technologies.

The negotiators are set to hold regular meetings for the next two to three months in Washington and Warsaw to prepare recommendations for both governments.

During Prime Minister Tusk's visit to Washington in March US President George Bush announced that the scope of US aid for the Polish army will be defined during his term in office.

Tusk warned yesterday that Poland is waiting for concrete proposals. "If we do not receive them, there will be no decision made concerning the construction of the US anti-missile shield," he declared. (Dziennik, p. 8; Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 6) A.K.