Hungarian troops stationed in Iraq could be withdrawn before their mandate expires at the end of the year if stability is restored in the country by then, Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs said Thursday."The hope is greater now that the situation in Iraq could develop favourably," Kovacs told Hungarian public television from New York.
"Hungarian soldiers could come home before their mandate ends if their presence is no longer needed."
Kovacs added however that Iraq's stabilisation before December 31, 2004 -- the date until which Hungarian troops have a parliamentary mandate to stay in Iraq -- was an "optimistic" assessment.
Kovacs is accompanying Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy on a visit to the United States, where the Hungarian leader met US President George W. Bush on Tuesday. Medgyessy pledged Hungarian troops would stay in Iraq until the end of the year.
Hungary has 300 troops, mostly logistics experts, in Iraq and the prime minister has come under pressure from the public and the opposition to withdraw them.
The first Hungarian soldier to die in Iraq was buried at home on Wednesday with military honours.
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