Poland will pull its troops out of Iraq by the end of this year if the UN Security Council approves no more resolutions on international forces there, Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said Thursday.
Szmajdzinski told reporters that the Polish forces will go back home at the end of December if no more resolutions on the presence of US-led troops in Iraq is passed in the Security Council by late November or early December.
Polish soldiers are on a mission in the country at the request of the Iraqi government, Szmajdzinski stressed at a press conference in the northwestern city of Szczecin. He did not rule out an earlier withdrawal when the Iraqi authorities made such a decision.
On Monday, Warsaw decided to withdraw 800 troops from Iraq by the end of February as part of its plans to reduce military presence in Iraq following the elections.
The Polish government will evaluate the situation in Iraq in February and March, and decide on the future of its remaining troops in the country, Szmajdzinski said earlier.
A staunch US ally in Iraq, Poland currently has 2,400 troops in Iraq as part of a multinational force under its command.
Under a UN resolution adopted last June, the US-led multinational force including 180,000 troops from 28 countries will stay in Iraq until Iraq's political process is completed.