The State Department could not explain why Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller said such a conference would be held soon and that only three countries -- Australia, Britain and Poland -- would be invited by the United States.

"I'm not aware of any particular donors' conference," spokesman Richard Boucher said when asked about Miller's comments.

"I suppose at some point something like that might happen," he said. "But for the moment, we've been polling people, we've been talking to people and looking at what they might have to contribute."

"We've already heard from about 58 countries who are interested in contributing in various ways, whether it's to provide some police or military units to help maintain stability or to provide medical kits or wheat," Boucher said.

Miller told Polish public television earlier that a conference on Iraq would take place soon and only Britain, Australia and Poland would be invited to participate by the United States.

This meeting will take place "at an appropriate level" in a country "other than the United States" he said, declining to go into the date and venue of the meeting.

The United States, Britain, Australia and Poland are coalition partners in the war on Iraq. Poland has sent around 200 troops to the region, of whom around 50 are part of an elite special forces unit serving in Iraq itself.

SPACE.WIRE