BERLIN, Nov 17 (AFP) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder thinks the United States should face up to problems in Iraq by discussing them more fully with its allies, according to an interview to appear Thursday in the weekly Die Zeit.
The German leader, who consistently opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq, said he hoped "that one would recognize that of course you can win a war, but not the peace, and learn lessons by discussing more carefully than ever with partners" for peace.
Asked whether he would miss outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Schroeder said: "Yes, because he knows our country, with which he is tied by friendship." However, he added, "I will be pleased to work with (Powell's presumptive successor, current National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice."
Schroeder said that more troops should be on hand, to help Iraq's transition.
"More troops, wherever they come from, would bring more security to Iraq," he said.
"It is with the holding of elections and a legitimate government, it is by handing the reins of the country to the Iraqis and by helping them to guarantee their own security, via the police and via the army, that you create more security in Iraq," Schroeder said.
Separately the German government coordinator for German-American relations, Karsten Voigt, said during a visit to Washington, Germany had "nothing against Rice, and the time has come for a new start in bilateral relations, and for the definition of common interests".
Voigt said there would always be differences of opinion between the German government and the Bush administration, because Germany no longer comes down automatically on Washington's side, like in Cold War times, "but remains to be convinced."
Among the priority areas for cooperation between Berlin and Washington he listed a solution of the Middle East conflict, which he said can not happen unless "the Americans and the Europeans sing from the same hymn sheet".
11/17/2004 20:00 GMT - AFP