Berlin Reaffirms Opposition to US War Against Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 08, 2002

Berlin Reaffirms Opposition to US War Against Iraq

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has reiterated his opposition to any US-led war against Iraq, in an interview published on Wednesday.

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German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has reiterated his opposition to any US-led war against Iraq, in an interview published on Wednesday.

Schroeder told the Bild newspaper that a war with Baghdad could hardly be understood as defensive and would destroy the global coalition forged to fight terrorism after September 11.

"This battle (of fighting terrorism) has not yet been won - that's why I warn against an attack on Iraq," said the German leader.

In past days Schroeder and other leaders of the Social-democratic Party of Deutschland (SPD) have said that Germany will supply neither troops nor money for a war against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

In the interview with Bild, Schroeder said he was also againstan Iraq war because it would worsen the global economic crisis.

"And this would only bring us economic difficulties," he said.

The Middle East needed new peace instead of new war and this was what Berlin's policies were aimed at, he said.

According to opinion polls, Schroeder's anti-Iraq war stance is backed by a big majority of Germans. An Emnid Institute poll earlier this week showed 73 per cent of them rejected any involvement in possible U.S. strikes on Baghdad.

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Germany Declines to Support US-led War Against Iraq

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