Poland is to accept more responsibility in the international presence in Afghanistan, Polish Defense Minister Bodgan Klich said in an interview published Wednesday.
According to the plan, Poland wants to takeover responsibility for the province Paktika, bordering Pakistan.
"The Polish national flag will be more visible," Klich told the daily Dziennik, adding that the goal was Polish military autonomy" in the province.
Talks with NATO partners on the reorganization of Poland's Afghanistan force have started, Klich said.
"We have already started meetings with our partners," Klich said and added that main talks would be held in Washington. Klich is planning to visit Washington to win U.S. approval for the move, the report said.
Poland currently has about 1,200 soldiers deployed in the 36,000-strong U.N.- mandated and North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The Polish contingent is backed by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division.
Last Friday Klich mentioned plans to concentrate Polish units in Afghanistan, saying Poland's Afghanistan force will be enlarged by 400 troops in April-May of 2008.
Source: Xinhua
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