Polish troops may leave Iraq by end of 2005: president

Visiting Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said in Paris Monday that his country may withdraw all its troops from Iraq by the end of next year.

Kwasniewski said after talks with French President Jacques Chirac that the pullout will begin in January 2005 and Warsaw hopes "to finish our mission at the end of 2005."

When asked if there is a firm date for finishing the pullout, the Polish president replied, "No, this has not been decided."

He said Warsaw is considering such a deadline because the situation in Iraq is expected to change after the January elections that would bring stability to the country.

"We decided to speak with the Iraqis and our coalition partners, the United States, about a reduction of the Polish forces from Jan.1, and maybe our mission will finish at the end of 2005," he said.

Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinksi said earlier that two and a half years in Iraq would be enough for the Polish military, and his suggestion was to withdraw the forces by the end of 2005.

However, Szmajdzinksi later said his remarks were just his personal opinions and were not the official government position after Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka expressed displeasure with Szmajdzinksi's public statement.

Poland, a key US ally, has sent 2,400 troops to Iraq. However, the country is divided over the Iraq mission.

The opposition Polish Peasants' Party has launched a petition seeking an immediate pullout. And a leading member of Belka's junior coalition partner, the Labor Union, has threatened to withdraw his party's support to Belka in an Oct.

15 vote unless the latter first presents a plan for the pullout of Polish troops from Iraq.

Source: Xinhua>