Troops Will Stay Until January
Poland will keep troops in Iraq through January, but then the new government will have to decide the course for the future, outgoing Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said on Wednesday.
"We want to be a serious partner and we want to be a steadfast and loyal partner in the coalition," Kwasniewski said at the White House, where he met with President George W. Bush.
"Our troops are in Iraq, and they will stay in Iraq until the end of January. And that decision has been made, and nothing changes here," he said.
"But we have to think about the future, and we have to respect the right of the new government and the right of the new president to make their decisions about it," Kwasniewski said.
Conservative presidential candidate Lech Kaczynski said last month that Poland may keep its troops in Iraq longer if the United States helps modernize the Polish army.
Kaczynski and free-market enthusiast Donald Tusk face a presidential run-off vote on Oct. 23.
Poland's outgoing leftist government backed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and initially contributed 2,500 troops, a presence that has since been reduced to 1,700 troops.
"We had a talk about who might succeed Aleksander and their opinions," Bush said.
"My advice would be, for whoever succeeds the president, to come and visit and to exchange visits with foreign ministers," he said. "That's what friends do. They share concerns and share goals. And then work together to satisfy and achieve goals. And I'm confident that's going to happen."