Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski in newspaper and radio interviews said that Poland, one of the staunchest US allies in Iraq, would withdraw its 2,500 troops from the country by the end of December 2005.

"The final date (of our military presence in Iraq) should be that of the expiry of the UN Security Council resolution," the minister said, referring to UN resolution 1546 endorsing the timetable for political transition in Iraq, which expires in December 2005.

But as the issue provoked a spiralling row, he later clarified his comments in an interview with Polish public radio and daily Gazeta Wyborcza, saying they reflected his "personal view."

Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz immediately distanced the government from the defence minister's statement, which was certain to provoke a furious response in Washington.

"I would like the situation in Iraq to evolve to allow us to say that our mission in Iraq is over," he told reporters.

"But this is not the case. We have to grit our teeth and be consistent. Poland, which in the past has so often been betrayed by its allies, would not like to betray for the first time its ally," the foreign minister added.

Cimoszewicz denied there were divisions within the government, describing the defence minister's announcement as "a technical error."

In a sign of the extreme sensitivity of the issue, Prime Minister Marek Belka said he had not been consulted and would seek clarification from Szmajdzinski, the PAP news agency reported.

Until now the Polish government had said it would reduce its military presence in Iraq in 2005.

Analysts noted that the centre-left government faces heavy criticism over the Polish military presence in Iraq and suggested that the defence chief may have been trying to further his own political ambitions.

An announcement of a Polish pullout would spark dismay in Washington, where US President George W. Bush is under criticism over the troubled US-led occupation of Iraq as he seeks re-election next month.

In last week's TV debate with Democratic challenger John Kerry, Bush specifically mentioned the Polish contribution.

Poland sent 2,500 troops to Iraq last year in the wake of the US-led invasion and heads up a multinational division of 6,000 soldiers in south-central Iraq.

But amid strong popular opposition to the Polish troop deployment and violent unrest in the country, the government is under pressure to bring to an end Poland's military involvement in Iraq.

Seventeen Polish nationals have died in Iraq -- 13 soldiers and four civilians -- including three soldiers killed in an attack last month near the central Iraqi city of Hilla.

According to the latest poll, more than 70 percent of Poles are opposed to the presence of their country's troops in Iraq.

Parliamentary elections are due next year in Poland, with the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party which sent Polish troops to Iraq currently credited with only seven percent support.

Moreover, its minority coalition partner, the Labour Union (UP), has threatened to withhold its support from Prime Minister Marek Belka's government in a no confidence motion on October 15 unless it gives a firm timetable for an Iraqi pullout.

"The reason is we have elections coming up next year and the SLD wants to be able to say during the election campaign this is not an issue because we are withdrawing the troops by the end of 2005," political analyst Krzysztof Bobinski told AFP.

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