"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.

His comments in an interview with Polish public radio marked the first time a Warsaw official has set a precise timetable concerning the withdrawal of Polish troops from Iraq.

Analysts in Warsaw said the move 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.

"The Bush administration is of course going to be disappointed," political analyst Krzystof Bobinski told AFP.

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

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 domestic opposition to the Polish troop deployment and violent unrest in the Middle Eastern 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.

"I hope that the situation in Iraq will allow us to carry out our plan to withdraw our units," said Szmajdzinski.

"We do not have such a major army as the United States or Britain to allow us to have limitless possibilities," he added.

The unpopular centre-left government in Warsaw, whose support has plunged to single digits, has been forced to commit to a withdrawal from Iraq pushed for by populist parties for electoral reasons, commentators say.

Parliamentary elections are due next year in Poland, with the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party which committed 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," Bobinski said.

Poland's largest opposition party, the liberal Civic Platform party, which leads in opinion polls, has supported the Polish intervention in Iraq but is likely to back a timetable for withdrawal for the same reason, he added.

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