WARSAW (NNI): Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski wants to start the withdrawal of Polish troops from Afghanistan this year, head of the National Security Office (BBN) Stanislaw Koziej said. "This complies with president's earlier declarations and content of his address during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Lisbon last November.
Such position stems from a comparison of Polish national interests with conclusions of analysis and assessment of condition and outlook for the operation in Afghanistan.
It is also fully situated within the Alliance's long-range strategy towards Afghanistan passed during NATO last summit," Koziej stressed, quoted by the PAP news agency.
He added that the reduction of Poland contingent's involvement and the conclusion, in tune with the general allied plan, of the participation in the Afghan operation should last until 2014.
The pullout operation is to be divided into three stages. Gradual reduction of tasks and the size of the contingent are to lead to the termination of combat operations and the handing over of Polish responsibility in the Afghan province of Ghanzi. This stage is to end in 2012.
In 2013-2014, Poles are to take part in a training mission with maintaining combat readiness for limited alarm support of Afghan or coalition forces and the completion of the involvement in the military operation.
Following 2014, Poland is to maintain its readiness for cooperation, including military training and technical cooperation, with Afghanistan on grounds of earlier negotiated bilateral agreement within allied partnership.
The Polish military contingent, which counts some 2,600 soldiers, is taking part in the operation of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Within the operation, Poles assure security in the province of Ghanzi, including protection of the Kabul-Kandahar road and the Ghanzi-Sharan route.
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