Schroeder Confident in German-US Ties

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, May 17, 2003

Schroeder Confident in German-US Ties

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Friday that he was confident over the future of bilateral relations between Germany and the United States.

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German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Friday that he was confident over the future of bilateral relations between Germany and the United States.

Schroeder made the remark after his talks with visiting US Secretary of State Collin Powell.

There were more common grounds in the bilateral ties than disputes over Iraq war, he told the ARD television.

Speaking to reporters following a half-an-hour meeting, Powell and Schroeder said they had held "deep" and "candid" talks and have put the differences between their two countries behind them.

"We talked about the disagreement in the past and seriousness of that disagreement," Powell said, referring to the two nations' serious disputes over the war against Iraq."

Powell's visit in Berlin is the first by a high-ranking US official since the two traditional allies drifted apart over the US-led war on Iraq.

Schroeder added that Germany and the United States were "friends and allies" and had to look to the future.

"We talked about that which pulls us together," he said, pointing to the long-term ties between Germany and the US, their cooperation in Afghanistan, the Balkans and the "war on terror".

Schroeder promised that Germany was willing to help the United States in lifting the UN sanctions on Iraq, a key goal Washington is seeking to achieve at present.

"We are of the opinion that the sanctions that were leveled at the time no longer make sense in light of developments and should be lifted as soon as possible," Schroeder said.

"We are moving forward with respect to helping the people of Iraq have a better life," he said.

Before the meeting, Powell said if Germany votes in favor of the new US resolution on lifting sanctions against Iraq at the UN Security Council, it could be a "possible start" to normalization of tense relations between the two countries.

The two also discussed Germany's presence in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Powell praised the work of German troops there. Schroeder said he would consider US calls to expand the zone of peacekeepers in Afghanistan, which remains unstable more than a year after the Taliban was removed from power.

Germany currently has 2,500 soldiers stationed in Kabul and leads the ISAF along with the Netherlands.

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