Diplomatic moves to water down rocket accusations

Polish Soldiers have caused an incident which could have been avoided, French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday relating to the statement of Polish Defense Ministry spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak who announced that Polish troops had found French Roland rockets in Iraq, allegedly produced last year. This aroused some emotions among the members of the Polish opposition. "This issue has affected the interests of Poland and cannot be left without consequences," said the Civic Platform (PO) Deputy Jan Rokita. President Chirac added "We have not produced these rockets for 15 years. Warsaw could have consulted with Paris. I said that to the Polish Prime Minister in a friendly and determined way". Later in the afternoon, Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdziński sent official apologies over the incident. According to Polish diplomats, the soldiers mistook the guarantee date on the rockets for the production date. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1; Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1) A.Z.