The US quietly rolled out diplomatic sanctions against Poland last month in response to the country's new Holocaust law, the Polish outlet Onet Wiadomości reported Tuesday.



Onet reported that it had obtained a memo, dated Feb. 20, that said Poland's leaders would not be allowed to meet with President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence until the law was repealed.

State Department officials also reportedly warned that the US might withhold funding for joint military projects in Poland, including the stationing of US forces in the country as part of joint NATO defense efforts.

Poland has faced an intense diplomatic backlash ever since it prepared to enact the new law in February, which makes it a crime to attribute any blame to the Polish nation for the Holocaust.



A source based in Warsaw with knowledge of diplomatic discussions confirmed the Onet report to BuzzFeed News on the condition of anonymity. The US Embassy in Warsaw and the State Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment, nor did spokespeople for the prime minister and the ruling party.

A spokesperson for Poland’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment directly on the report, citing a policy against discussing classified material or official correspondence. But, the spokesperson said in a message to BuzzFeed News, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received signals that the American administration is concerned about the implementation” of the Holocaust law, though denied the US issued an ultimatum over the law. Since then, the spokesperson said, intense diplomatic talks have continued and “bilateral strategic cooperation is not threatened.”



Polish Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Bartosz Cichocki denied the Onet report, but also said that leaking memos from US officials to the press was a crime. “Using such notes in contacts with the press is not only breaking the law and should lead to the suspension of security clearance for these people by counterintelligence, but is also proof of extreme irresponsibility,” Cichocki said during an appearance on TVN24. “It’s not true, there is no ultimatum like this. I do not understand why someone wants to rock the boat."

Separately, the Polish site WP reported Tuesday that Polish President Andrzej Duda refused to take a phone call from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shortly before he signed the law in February. Citing a source close to Poland's prime minister, WP said Duda did not take the call because he believed Tillerson should be speaking to someone at a lower rank rather than directly to him.

BuzzFeed News could not independently confirm this account, and a request for comment from the Polish president's office was not immediately returned.

