Poles Protest a U.S. Ultimatum on Envoy : Say Washington Is Requiring Accreditation of New Ambassador

Foreign Minister Stefan Olszowski has accused the U.S. government of issuing an ultimatum to Poland to accept a new American ambassador within 30 days or face a further deterioration in relations.

Olszowski said the Polish government rejected the ultimatum, but he did not say when the 30 days is due to expire. Diplomatic sources, however, indirectly confirmed that Washington had set such a deadline and that 30 days have already elapsed. They left unclear why the deadline was set and what the consequences might be, if any.

“The United States demanded . . . that agreement be given within 30 days for their ambassador in Warsaw, threatening us with a further worsening of bilateral relations,” Olszowski said in a speech Thursday to the Polish Parliament. “We responded the way any other sovereign government would respond. We will not accept a diktat or ultimatum.”

The foreign minister’s charge, published in Friday’s official newspapers, was the first public reference to an American deadline for restoring normal diplomatic ties between the two countries.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Charles Sylvester refused to comment on Olszowski’s charge, saying it was a matter for private diplomatic discussion. Another official, speaking on condition that he not be identified, called the charges exaggerated but said he would not deny them.

The dispute over ambassadors dates to 1982, when the last American ambassador, Francis Meehan, left Poland. The two governments have since been represented in each other’s capitals at the level of charge d’affaires, with limited access to high-ranking officials.

Warsaw has refused to accept the nomination of Jack Scanlon as the new U.S. ambassador until Washington lifts the sanctions it imposed after the Solidarity trade union movement was crushed under martial law in 1981.

Premier Wojciech Jaruzelski’s government lifted martial law in 1983, but a number of U.S. sanctions were left in place because hundreds of Solidarity activists at the time remained in prison.

The Reagan Administration has gradually rolled back its sanctions as Poland has granted amnesty to nearly all the activists jailed under martial law. In a major exception, however, the Administration refuses to discuss the possibility of restoring Poland’s most-favored-nation trading status until Warsaw accepts a new U.S. ambassador.

Debt a Key Concern

Poland’s exports to the United States have fallen off sharply since 1981, cutting the hard-currency income it desperately needs to pay its debt to Western nations. The debt now stands at about $29 billion and is expected to exceed $30 billion by the end of this year as Poland continues to fall behind in interest payments.

Gen. Jaruzelski has nevertheless insisted, apparently as a point of pride, that the United States lift its remaining sanctions and restore Poland’s privileged trading status before he will resume normal ties.

“This is absurd,” a U.S. official said. “How can we give a country most-favored status when we don’t even have normal relations with them? When there are tensions, you need ambassadors to talk about them.”

In his speech, Olszowski accused the United States of “constant interference in our internal affairs” and attempts to “destabilize” the Polish government through broadcasts by the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, which are widely listened to in Poland.

“What is necessary to normalize these relations,” the foreign minister said, “is a return to realism by the United States, and giving up its present policy toward Poland.”

His remarks followed a speech last Saturday by Jaruzelski, who charged that the United States, far from improving ties, has embarked on a new “anti-Polish crusade.”

Polish officials have alleged that Washington provoked Warsaw into expelling the U.S. military attache, Col. Frederick Myer, last month on spying charges. The Reagan Administration, accusing the Poles of mistreating Myer and his wife, Barbara, responded by expelling the Polish military attache and postponing talks on scientific and technical cooperation.

U.S. officials express puzzlement at the chill in the Polish attitude just as relations seemed on the verge of thawing. In December, the United States lifted its veto on Poland’s application to join the International Monetary Fund--thus rescinding a major sanction--and opened the way to a resumption of air traffic and talks on scientific exchanges.