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Bush Reiterates U.S. Support of Polish Borders

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From Reuters

President Bush today reaffirmed U.S. support for Poland’s present borders and assured Warsaw that it will have a voice in any issues, including German reunification, that affect Poland’s future.

“In all decisions affecting the fate of Poland, Poland must have a voice,” Bush said at a state welcoming ceremony for Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki.

Bush, who met with Mazowiecki for more than one hour and asked the prime minister to come back for further talks Thursday, restated Washington’s backing of Poland’s borders. He pledged to work for “a new Europe in which the security of all European states and their fundamental right to exist secure within their present borders is totally assured.”

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In a bid to attract investment into Poland, Bush and Mazowiecki signed an agreement committing Poland to standard Western business practices regarding expropriation, currency transfers, patents, intellectual property and other matters.

Bush, who pledged continued U.S. aid to help Poland’s movement toward a market economy, also approved the opening of a Polish consulate in Los Angeles and lifted all travel restrictions on Polish diplomats in the United States.

His border comments were a bid to allay Warsaw’s fears that a powerful, reunified German state might make demands on Polish territory that once belonged to Germany.

But White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater made clear that the United States opposed Polish admission to the so-called “two plus four” German unification talks among the two Germanys and the four World War II victors--the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Britain.

“We believe the current structure is the correct one. That it should remain two plus four, not two plus five or six, not additional countries,” the spokesman said.

Assistant Secretary of State Raymond Seitz, who briefed reporters after the talks, described Bush’s promise to give Poland a voice as “simply a statement that we understand Polish concerns and we will listen to Poland’s concerns and we will respond to Poland’s concerns.” He said there are a number of forums in which Warsaw could be heard.

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