The Polish army will start to withdraw from the mission in Afghanistan in about two years, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at a press conference in Bydgoszcz on Thursday.
"Now we want to strengthen them ... offer additional training to soldiers, Afghan police so that they could start to take over the
responsibility for their own country in some two years' time," said Sikorski.
The minister stressed that the Afghanistan-based Polish troops manage to "implement their strategy slowly, but very consistently."
He added that Poland is withdrawing from foreign missions which "have ceased to be of primary importance to our reason of state."
"We are strengthening that mission which is a priority for NATO and thus also for Poland's security. We have liquidated our missions in Iraq,
Lebanon, Syria and Chad while that in Afghanistan is being strengthened," said Sikorski.
At present, there are some 2,000 Polish soldiers stationed in the Afghan province of Ghanzi. Poland plans to expand its ISAF (the NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force International Security Assistance Force) contingent to 2,600 soldiers in April 2010.