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Schroeder: World can avoid war
BERLIN, Germany -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said he believes a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis is still possible and that he will fight for it alongside France and Russia. "We can disarm Iraq without war. I see grasping this chance as my responsibility," Schroeder told the Bundestag lower parliament on Thursday. Schroeder said the current U.N. resolution 1441 calling for weapons inspections in Iraq does not contain an order for the use of military force if Baghdad does not fully cooperate with inspections. The chancellor said: "If we now declare the process of Iraqi disarmament and peaceful solution as having failed, then we would strengthen the position of fanatics and those who want to bring about this confrontation of cultures. "That is why it is our duty to turn every stone twice to find a peaceful solution." "Whoever wants to settle this problem by military means must consider whether it advances the interests of an international alliance of 50 or more nations, many Muslim, or whether it will disturb and perhaps destroy this alliance," Schroeder added. He said Germany, along with France, Russia and other partners, was doing all it could to bring about a peaceful resolution. Schroeder also said Turkey could rely on Germany's military support in the event of an attack. But he ruled out resolving a NATO dispute over when to start military planning to protect Turkey before Friday, when chief U.N. arms inspectors will present a fresh report on their findings in Iraq to the Security Council. Germany, France and Belgium have blocked sending equipment and personnel to Turkey as a precaution because they say it could jeopardize a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi situation. Also speaking to the parliament, German Defence Minister Peter Struck said NATO would break the deadlock over Turkey by Saturday at the latest, after arms inspectors report back to the United Nations. "We will reach a decision in the NATO council at the latest on Saturday after the sitting of the Security Council which absolutely corresponds to the interests of Turkey," Struck told the German parliament in a debate on Iraq. The comments came as NATO members were preparing for a fourth day of emergency talks on the issue, which has created one of the worst rifts in the alliance's 53-year history. (Full story) Schroeder said Germany, which took over the rotating chair of the Security Council this month, should be proud of its country's contributions to the international war on terrorism. He also said that because Germany has the second largest number of peacekeeping troops, it has the right to differentiate with the U.S. stance on Iraq. Reuters contributed to this report.
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