Bulgaria has replaced its troops in Iraq, and has started planning for their withdrawal by the end of the year, the country's chief-of-staff said Monday. Gen. Nikola Kolev said, however, that this would not be the end of Bulgaria's military involvement in Iraq. "The fifth battalion already has taken over its tasks, and has started operative planning for the pullout scheduled for the period between October and December," Kolev told reporters at a military ceremony to welcome back the soldiers of the previous contingent in their base in the central Bulgarian town of Karlovo. The replacement force serving in the central-southern Iraqi city of Diwaniya numbers 400, while before the rotation there were 460 soldiers. "We are ready to send a sixth battalion, if such a political decision is made," Kolev added. In Bulgaria, decisions to send troops abroad are made by parliament. In May, Bulgaria's parliament voted to cut the number of troops in Iraq to 400 and to continue their mission through the end of 2005.
