Leaders of the United States and Germany said on Wednesday the relations between the two countries will have a "new beginning."

After meeting visiting US President George W. Bush in Mainz, Schroeder said Germany's disputes with the United States over Iraq were things of the past.

"Nobody wants to conceal that we had different opinions about these things in the past, but that is the past," Schroeder said. "Now our joint interest is that we come to a stable, democratic Iraq."

Schroeder said Germany would continue to train Iraqi police and army personnel in the United Arab Emirates and also offered help in rebuilding Iraq's institutions if the new Iraqi administration requests it.

"We'd be very happy to make expertise available when it is about the rebuilding of democratic institutions, whether it be drafting a constitution or the establishment of ministries," he added.

For his part, Bush noted that Germany had agreed to assist Iraq through debt relief and other measures and was careful to play down Berlin's continuing refusal to send troops or train Iraq security forces inside Iraq itself.

He thanked Germany for its contribution to the reconstruction of Iraq. "I fully understand the limitations" Germany faces, Bush said, adding that Berlin's contributions were "not limited, they're important."

The US president also thanked Germany for helping lead diplomatic efforts with Iran.

"We just started the diplomatic efforts and I want to thank our friends for taking the lead. We will work with them to convince the mullahs that they need to give up their nuclear ambitions," he said.

Bush's fence-mending visit to Germany was accompanied by strong protests. Some 8,000 protesters were out to voice their objections to Washington's foreign policies.

Observers say ordinary Germans are still deeply skeptical over Bush. An opinion poll released just as the president arrived suggests that more Germans trust Russian President Vladimir Putin than the US president.

Source: Xinhua