Polish troops may be in Iraq to end 2007-president

WARSAW, Nov 27 (Reuters) Polish President Lech Kaczynski appeared today to push back the deadline for withdrawal of his country's 900 troops from Iraq, saying the force would leave by the end of 2007, not by mid-2007 as previously stated.

In June, Kaczynski told Reuters in an interview that the Polish contingent would not stay beyond the middle of 2007 at the latest and even could be withdrawn before then.

But asked today to confirm a report by the Polish edition of Newsweek that the Defence Ministry wanted the force to leave by the end of July, the PAP state news agency quoted Kaczynski as telling a news conference: ''I am astounded by this ... (No decision) has been made aside from (the fact that the withdrawal) will not be later than the end of 2007.'' The Poles' official mandate in Iraq ends in December, and Defence Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said a decision on extending the force's mission and on defining when it would end was likely to be taken in mid-December.

The Poles have taken on responsibilities in Lebanon and Afghanistan in past months, stretching their budget and resources.

Newsweek on Monday published excerpts from a letter from Sikorski, which the magazine said he had sent to Kaczynski and his twin brother, Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

''Due to the wider engagement of the army in foreign operations next year and the planned handover of responsibility for the (Iraqi) provinces in 2007 ... I propose ending the Iraq mission in July 2007,'' read the excerpt published by Newsweek.

REUTERS LL HT2357