Germany's Schroeder defends policy on Iraq
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder today stressed that his commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis remains undiminished.
“Germany has a responsibility in the war against international terrorism, a responsibility to ensure the unconditional disarmament of Iraq and a responsibility for peace,” he told German MPs. “We will stick without wavering to this responsibility for peace.”
Germany, France and Russia say they see no reason for launching an attack on Iraq, insisting that the UN weapons inspectors be given more time, manpower and equipment to peacefully disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Their position has increasingly irritated Washington.
US Secretary of State Powell has said he will press the French and German foreign ministers during tomorrow’s meeting of the UN Security Council to say how much more time they would give the inspectors – or whether they were only trying to get Iraq “off the hook”.
In his speech, Schroeder rejected the idea that opposing war would ease the international pressure on Iraq.
“Every possibility of a peaceful solution must be exhausted – the inspections must be continued and they must be expanded,” he said. “To reject a war is not appeasement.”
