Hungary will withdraw its military contingent from Iraq by March 31, 2005. This was stated on Wednesday by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, who took over the Hungarian government a month ago.
"Our duty, as allies, is to stay there (in Iraq) until the elections are held," he said. However, according to him, after the elections "security in Iraq must be ensured by political means."
The prime minister emphasized that holding elections "is the most important condition for normalizing the situation" in that country.
Since September of last year, 300 Hungarian servicemen have been stationed in Iraq.
Bulgaria has also decided to reduce its military contingent in Iraq. The country's Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday, November 3, the planned replacement of a battalion in Iraq numbering 483 personnel with another one consisting of 430 servicemen.
Therefore, the small Bulgarian contingent in Iraq will be reduced by approximately 10%. In addition, Bulgarian servicemen will be redeployed from Karbala to the area around the city of Diwaniyah in the center of the country.
During the presence of the Bulgarian contingent in Iraq, seven servicemen were killed.
Based on Interfax materials.