Germany won't budge on Iraq troops: Schroeder

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Sunday Germany would not budge on its refusal to send troops to Iraq, but doesn't expect that to become a contentious issue at the Nato summit in Istanbul on Monday.
Speaking to journalists in Berlin before boarding a plane to Istanbul, Schroeder said the transatlantic row over the Iraq war belonged in the history books and that all Nato states were interested in improving stability and democracy in Iraq.
"There's no change - there will be no German soldiers in Iraq," Schroeder said. "I've said that from the start and that will be the position that we'll be taking in Istanbul."
Sixteen Nato members have forces in Iraq, but key members, including France and Germany, oppose sending troops. Several US senators have criticised Germany and France for not sending forces.
"No, I don't think there will be any dispute about that," Schroeder said when asked if he was expecting pressure from the United States or other Nato members in Istanbul. "The issue about where countries stood on the Iraq war is history now.