Schroeder confirms Berlin not sending troops to Iraq

ROME, Oct 13 (AFP) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder confirmed Wednesday his government did not plan to send troops to Iraq, after talks in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
"To be clear, we will send no troops to Iraq," Schroeder told a press conference after his talks with Berlusconi.
"There will be no change" in the German position, the chancellor added.
Earlier, his government was pressed to clarify its position after the publication of an interview in Wednesday's Financial Times in which Defense Minister Peter Struck indicated that Germany, which fiercely opposed the US-led invasion, might deploy troops to Iraq if conditions there change.