KABUL, July 19 (AFP) - Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka said Monday that Poland's troop deployment in Iraq should allow other NATO countries such as Germany to step up their military presence in Afghanistan.
"Our involvement in Iraq makes it possible for other NATO members, like Germany for example, to send troops, to send a bigger contingent to your country," Belka said at a press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Belka, along with Polish defence minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski, met Karzai and Afghan Defence Minister Marshall Mohammmed Qasim Fahim on a one-day visit to Afghanistan.
Poland has said it is planning to gradually reduce the number of its troops in Iraq. This would allow for a greater deployment to Afghanistan in the future, Belka said.
Belka said the importance of Poland's mission in Afghanistan should not be overshadowed by Iraq.
As a member of NATO, Poland has up to 200 soldiers based with coalition forces at Bagram air base just outside Kabul.
Security in Afghanistan has deteriorated in the run-up to presidential elections scheduled for October 9 with a surge of attacks against aid workers and government and election officials.
Both Afghanistan and the United Nations have called on NATO countries to step up their military presence in Afghanistan.
At present there are more than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of a US-led coalition to hunt down militants and train the fledgling national army.