WARSAW, Jan 9: Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski hit out on Friday at US visa requirements for Polish citizens, raising the tone on an issue blotting a blossoming relationship between the two allies in Iraq.

Speaking in an interview on Polish radio two weeks before crossing the Atlantic for political consultations with US President George Bush, scheduled for Jan 26, Mr Kwasniewski said the visa requirements were "inexplicable" and "frustrating".

"For Polish public opinion it is inexplicable why a partner, an ally, which takes part, shoulder to shoulder, in a very high risk mission in Iraq has visa problems and is considered (by the Americans) as unwelcome," he said.

"The Americans should understand Poles' frustration," he said. The ex-communist bloc country, which joins the European Union on May 1, has traditionally close links with Washington, with some 10 million people of Polish origin living in the United States.

Warsaw, a NATO member since 1999, irked the EU's heavyweight founding members France and Germany by putting itself firmly behind the United States in the invasion of Iraq.

It now heads, as a reward, a 9,000-strong multinational force controlling one of the country's four post-war zones. Economic ties were also given a boost last year when Warsaw chose US Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets over European rivals, netting promises of billions of dollars of US investment in the process.

However, despite the close ties Poland is not on the visa waiver list agreed by the US Congress, as many Polish visitors are considered likely to work illegally, or stay longer than they should.

Poles wanting to go to the United States have to pay 100 dollars a shot for a visa application, with no guarantee of being allowed in once they arrive on US soil. Some 350 made the journey last year only to be turned back.

The US embassy in Warsaw and consulate in the southern city of Krakow issued 100,000 non-immigrant visas last year, a spokesman at the Warsaw embassy said, while declining to confirm charges from Polish officials that 35 per cent of visa applications by Poles are rejected.

US diplomats in Warsaw denied that the visas were a slight on Poland, but acknowledged that the US administration is aware that the visas are a blot on the close relationship ahead of the talks between US and Polish leaders in Washington.

"There's no connection between our respect for Poland as an ally and the way the laws are applied and the consular officers here work very hard to make sure that all applicants get a fair shake. It's not a value judgment," James Bond, press attache of the US embassy in Warsaw, said this week.

"The Administration, from the Secretary of State, are well aware of the fact that Poland is concerned about this issue and it can affect our bilateral relations but it's a question of law, and laws are changed in the US in the Congress," he said.

US citizens can enter Poland without a visa. Mr Kwasniewski said he hoped Bush would be prompted to seek improvement of the situation within Congress, in the framework of the US presidential election campaign, and in view of the large Polish communities in Chicago, New York and Detroit.-AFP