BERLIN, Feb 4 (AFP) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday offered US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice more help from Germany in the rebuilding of Iraq`s institutions and security forces following landmark elections there last weekend.
Rice came to Berlin on the second stop of her first tour abroad in her new post looking for more assistance for Iraq from countries like Germany who opposed the war.
And after talks with Rice in Berlin, Schroeder said Germany was prepared to extend its training programmes for the Iraqi police and military which are currently taking place in the United Arab Emirates.
"I have declared Germany`s readiness to not just continue these projects but, if desired, to also expand on them," Schroeder told a press conference.
"We have a lot of experience with building functional institutions for countries, not just ministries but institutions for civil areas as well and this is the kind of assistance that we would like to make available to the Iraqi government if it is desired."
Germany has repeatedly refused to send troops to Iraq and there was no indication from Schroeder of any change in that position.
He hinted at past differences over the war when he said there was agreement between Berlin and Washington that Iraq needed to now move towards democracy and stability "regardless of what we thought about the military action in the first place".
Having come to Europe to talk about Iraq and the Middle East, Rice has found herself fielding questions about Iran, which Washington accuses of developing nuclear weapons.
In London, earlier on Friday, Rice said an attack on Iran "is simply not on the agenda at this point".
Rice however said in Berlin that she hoped "the Iranians will take the opportunities that are being presented to them".
For his part, Schroeder rejected a suggestion that US insistence on democratic change in Iran would compromise efforts by Germany, Britain and France to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue.
He said that US President George W. Bush`s "heart is where it should be" on democracy in Iran and added: "I couldn`t agree more. I don`t believe at all that there will be any weakening effect on the ongoing negotiations led by the three European countries."
Schroeder said it was "important" that Iran had the right to develop nuclear power but that any effort to use it to produce nuclear weapons was unacceptable.
He said the three European countries were ready to do "everything and anything to come to a diplomatic and political solution".
"I hope those steps are having the right effect," he added.
Rice is going from Germany to Poland before visiting Israel and the West Bank and Schroeder said he saw an opportunity "to nudge the Israelis and the Palestinians and their conflict towards a solution".
"I hope that the United States with its huge potential when it comes to this will try to use the momentum that we think we perceive. Germany and the Europeans are also going to play their part," he said.
"We very much hope that we can use this momentum because we feel that something is in the air at this point in time," he added.
The emergence of a new Palestinian leadership after the death of Yasser Arafat and the prospect of an Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip has stirred hope of a breakthrough after more than four years of violence.
02/04/2005 19:20 GMT - AFP