Victor Ashe, ambassador of the United States of America to Poland, talks with Marcin Mierzejewski.

How do you assess relations between the United States and the European Union and their prospects for development? What role can countries such as Poland play in developing these relations?
I think relations between the United States and Europe are good; they're improving. Differences that we've had in the past have been recognized but are not a barrier to future cooperation. Certainly, Poland's membership of the EU, for a little over two years now, has been very positive and important for transatlantic relations. We are also seeing strong NATO cooperation in Afghanistan. Poland, as a member of both NATO and the EU, has been helpful in building on these transatlantic ties.

Regarding future relations between the United States and the EU, I think there will be good cooperation. This doesn't mean that from time to time there will not be some disagreements or differences regarding specific issues, but in general cooperation will be strong. I think Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice and President [George] Bush have made that an important part of their agenda.

How should relations with states to the east of the EU be shaped? What is U.S. policy toward Poland's neighbors-Ukraine and Belarus?
The United States is very pleased with the leadership role Poland has played, particularly with Ukraine, in securing free and democratic elections. Poland and the United States were together on that issue. There was no difference or separation, and we applaud the role that Polish President [Aleksander] Kwaśniewski played in December 2004. In regard to Belarus, again there's really no difference between the United States' view and Poland's view; we deplore the totalitarian regime that exists in Minsk. The United States has imposed sanctions on the president of that country and we think it's important to do that to demonstrate our opposition to their refusal to provide the people of Belarus with basic democratic rights. It's a museum of communism and a museum for yesterday, in opposition to essential civil rights and basic human values.

A new agreement on scientific and technical cooperation between the United States and Poland was signed in February. What is its significance?
This is a 10-year agreement that builds upon an earlier agreement between our two nations, and eases broad bilateral cooperation in science and technology. It removes obstacles that would have prevented scientific collaboration, and encourages joint research, conferences, as well as the exchange of ideas and people back and forth. Some of those ongoing and potential areas of cooperation include cancer research, infectious disease research, joint research training programs, nanotechnology, biotechnology and environmental sciences. A lot of it is very technical and very complicated, but essential to human health.

It is felt by some in Poland that the costs of the country's involvement in Iraq in support of the United States were disproportionately high, outweighing the benefits. How would you comment on this?
It's never easy to be involved in long-term struggle, in this case against terrorism. I think the world is better off [now that] Saddam Hussein [has been] removed. The Iraqis have a free and democratic government in place, which was elected by a much higher percentage of people than participate in many other countries' elections.

I would point out that Poland receives more bilateral military assistance than any other country in Europe. Since September of 2003, the United States has spent approximately $450 million in support of the Polish deployment in Iraq. And during the same time, the United States has also spent nearly one billion dollars supporting the multinational division in South-Central Iraq, which is a division that Poland commands. Poland's involvement, I think, reflects its commitment to free and democratic principles. Poland has not drawn lines around the world saying we'll help here but not there. I think that's a testimony to the Poles' support of basic human rights, which did not exist in Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

Recently you opened Poland's second American Corner information center in Wrocław. What is this project about and will there be more such corners?
It's a very good project, and we've just opened a new one in Wrocław. It's very nice to celebrate; I think it will be a great addition. We also have one in Łódź, so we have two in Poland and I hope there will more in the future. It's a matter of financing and having the money to open them. In a perfect world, we'd have one in every major city in Poland, but we obviously don't have the money to do that all at once. The American government pays for opening the center, and then the local community or university, depending on where it is, operates the facility once it is open. So, the start-up costs are paid for by the American taxpayer, and the annual operation is paid by an arrangement with the local community of the city in which it's located.