Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka has arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for talks with his counterpart, Ibrahim Jaafari, on Polish troop levels.
The pair are to discuss the scheduled withdrawal of 1,500 of the soldiers from Iraq early next year.

The Polish government has been a staunch supporter of the US-led coalition in Iraq.

However, the policy is now unpopular with the public and it no longer has the funds or soldiers to sustain it.

When the US invited Polish troops to command a huge multi-national force in southern Iraq two years ago, the Polish government saw it as a great opportunity to improve its armed forces and Poland's international standing. Even though much of the public originally supported the idea of sending troops to Iraq opinions have now changed.

Many of the expected economic and political benefits have not materialised. And now the overwhelming majority of Poles want the soldiers to come home.