In a speech to parliament, Schroeder said he still believed the US-led military action against Iraq was a "wrong decision" to take, and regretted that Germany, which had been vehemently opposed to the war, was not able to prevent it.

"We all hope that the earliest possible end to the war will keep the number of victims as low as possible," he said.

"The United Nations has to play the central role in shaping Iraq's future and the political reorganization of the country after the war," he added.

But the chancellor stressed that reconstruction meant more than rebuilding the ravaged infrastructure or repairing the damaged oil wells.

"It is essential that any process of reconstruction is organized under the responsibility of the United Nations," Schroeder said.

He also called for a post-war political stabilization in the Middle East that will contribute to the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2003)