Thursday, May 17, 2007
Polish Prime Minister visits Iraq
Politics
(AP) - Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Wednesday and met with top Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Kaczynski, whose country has 900 soldiers in Iraq, traveled to the Green Zone, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Robert Szaniawski in Warsaw. The heavily fortified area on the banks of the Tigris River in central Baghdad is where Iraq's government meets and the U.S. and British embassies are located.
During his meeting with Kaczynski, al-Maliki said his country is interested in boosting its relations with Poland, al-Maliki's office said. Al-Maliki considered the visit an attempt to "enhance the cooperation between the countries," the statement said. Warsaw contributed ground troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003, and has since led an international force south of Baghdad. Twenty Polish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and Romanian President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu have all visited Iraq.
During his meeting with Kaczynski, al-Maliki said his country is interested in boosting its relations with Poland, al-Maliki's office said. Al-Maliki considered the visit an attempt to "enhance the cooperation between the countries," the statement said. Warsaw contributed ground troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003, and has since led an international force south of Baghdad. Twenty Polish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and Romanian President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu have all visited Iraq.
Labels: Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Nouri Al-Maliki, Poland
