A Polish-led multinational division in charge of security in south-central Iraq faces disintegration if more countries pull their troops out, Polish officials said on Wednesday.
Hungary's parliament on Monday refused to extend the mission of its 300 troops into the new year and Ukraine is also thinking of bringing home its 1,600 soldiers from the 8,000-strong division.
"A pull-out of Hungarian and Ukrainian troops would be a significant reduction," Poland's deputy foreign minister Boguslaw Zaleski told Reuters.
"A disintegration (of the brigade) is possible if more countries were to pull out because we would not be able to control the zone with just Polish troops," he added.
The pull-outs complicate Poland's own plans to substantially reduce its almost 2,500-strong force, which forms the backbone of the multinational division, after Iraqi elections in January.
The Polish-led division initially included Spanish troops, but their withdrawal soon after the anti-war Socialist government took power last May meant they could not take over command of the force as was originally planned.
Zaleski said one possibility would be to hand over the south central zone to Iraqi forces or to replace coalition troops with U.S. soldiers.
Warsaw remains one of the most steadfast supporters of U.S. policy on Iraq and the political consensus on staying on in Iraq for a little longer remains strong.
Poland was surprised by fellow east-European nation Hungary's decision to quit Iraq so soon after the U.S. election. Signals that Ukraine might follow suit appear to have rattled the government further.
Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition contender in Ukraine's close presidential election, has promised to withdraw troops as part of his campaign.
His rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, said the country could start pulling troops out after Iraqi elections in January.
Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said he would discuss the future of the Iraq operation with Washington and other allies.
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