BERLIN - Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Thursday he doesn't expect that the United States will press to expand the war against terrorism when the leaders of the world's major industrialized nations meet next week.
"That's not the case," Schroeder said during an interview with NDR-Info ahead of the June 26-27 summit of the Group of Eight in Kananaskis, Canada, asked whether U.S. President George W. Bush would push the issue.
"Demands are not on the agenda in Canada," he added. "We will certainly talk about the problem there, but there are no plans to take any decisions in the direction you suggest."
The G-8 comprises the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.
Suggestions that the U.S. might launch military action against Iraq have caused unease in Europe in recent months.
During a visit to Berlin last month, Bush called Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and destructive weapons he may have a threat to all civilization, and said it would be naive to "play like it's not there."
He also promised Schroeder he would engage in close consultations with Germany before the United States makes any move on Iraq.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.