Schroeder dismisses hints at change in Iraq policy: sources

BERLIN, Oct 13 (AFP) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday renewed his firm opposition to deploying troops to Iraq, sources said, slapping down hints at a change in policy from his defense minister.
"No one in the federal government, including the defense minister, is considering changing our position on Iraq," Schroeder told a meeting of his cabinet according to government sources.
Schroeder was speaking after the publication of an interview in Wednesday's Financial Times in which Defense Minister Peter Struck indicated that Germany might deploy troops to Iraq if conditions there change.
"At present I rule out the deployment of German troops in Iraq," Struck said.
"In general, however, there is no one who can predict developments in Iraq in such a way that he could make such a binding statement (about the future)."
Germany, like France and Russia, fiercely opposed the US-led war in Iraq and has declined to supply any military personnel to serve in the country.
The remarks had sparked an outcry among some members of Schroeder's Social Democrats and the junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Greens party.