Bulgarian soldiers will leave Iraq next year, according to the country's foreign minister.

Bulgarian troops will stay in Iraq as long as the Iraqi government welcomes them but no later than 2005, Foreign Minister Passy told local Darik Radio.

He described the resolution for Iraq as having a historic importance for the development of the country.

The resolution offsets all nervous reactions in Bulgaria over the last several months, according to Passy.

A nearly 500-strong Bulgarian stabilization force patrols Iraq's second holiest Shiite city of Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, as part of a multinational force under Polish command.

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