Ukraine's parliament has rejected an opposition proposal to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Iraq. More than a third of the deputies are reported to have voted for troop withdrawal, but the rest did not vote. Before the vote - which took place in a closed session - the government warned that such a move was "undesirable". About 1,650 Ukrainian troops are serving under Polish command in south-central Iraq - it is the fourth-largest non-US contingent there. President Leonid Kuchma has repeatedly said that Ukrainian soldiers will stay in Iraq "until the end".
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