Poland To Pull Troops From Iraq By End Of 2005

4 October 2004 -- Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said today that his country plans to pull all of its troops out of Iraq by the end of the year 2005.

Poland currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq and is seen by the United States as a major coalition partner.

Szmajdzinski, in interviews with Polish public radio and one the country's leading newspapers, "Gazeta Wyborcza", said Poland's final withdrawal from Iraq should coincide with the expiry of UN Security Council resolution 1546, which provides for the formation of a new government.

Recent opinion surveys show a majority of Poles oppose Poland's continued troop presence in Iraq.

(dpa/AFP)