Schroeder: Germany Ready to Contribute to Iraq's Reconstruct（在线收听）

Schroeder: Germany Ready to Contribute to Iraq's Reconstruction

Ruth Elkins

In a short news conference after a working dinner in Berlin Thursday evening, Mr. Schroeder said Germany is ready to contribute to Iraq's reconstruction.

He said it is important to move on from the reasons for the war on Iraq. He said he wants to focus on creating future stability and democratizing the country after the fall of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein last year.

Germany always strongly opposed the war on Iraq, whereas Britain was America's strongest ally. Mr. Blair echoed Mr. Schroeder, saying past differences over Iraq shouldn't stop the pair from working together to ensure Iraq's future stability. He said the talks were extremely constructive and both want to see Iraq become a democratic, prosperous and stable country.

The meeting was widely seen as an opportunity to show any rifts over Iraq have been resolved before a tri-lateral summit next week in Berlin, where Mr. Blair and Mr. Schroeder will be joined by French President Jacques Chirac. That meeting is being seen as an opportunity for the three to shore up their positions on EU expansion before a larger EU conference in March.

Mr. Blair and Mr. Schroeder also used the informal meeting to discuss the stalled EU constitution and their positions on Afghanistan. There, too, Mr. Schroeder said Germany is ready to provide a "lasting" contribution to help stabilize the country.

注释：

contribute to  捐助

move on  继续前进

democratize [di5mCkrEtaiz] v. （使）民主化

dictator [dik5teitE] n. 独裁者

ally [E5lai] n. 同盟国，支持者

constructive [kEn5strQktiv] adj. 建设性的

rift [rift] n. 不和

shore up  支持

stall [stC:l] v. 停止，迟延

lasting [5lB:stiN] adj. 持久的，永久的

stabilize [5steIbIlaIz] v. 稳定