¡¡¡¡BERLIN, May 16 (Xinhuanet) -- After meeting German officials, US Secretary of State Colin Powell seemed pleased with his one-day visit to Germany on Friday, saying talks were "open and frank," an indication that the German-US relations are improving after being strained over the Iraqi issue.

¡¡¡¡Powell and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer agreed that the two countries should look forward as "good allies" within the framework of transatlantic relations.

¡¡¡¡Months ago, German and US relations deteriorated into what the German press called "ice time," as Berlin enraged Washington by standing firm against the US policy toward Iraq.

¡¡¡¡Now that the Iraq war has nearly drawn to an end, Germany and the United States seemed poised to look beyond the Iraqi dispute. Germany has expressed support for lifting UN sanctions against Iraq, which is the "litmus test" set by the United States.

¡¡¡¡German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said at a joint press conference with Powell, "We think sanctions do not make any sense and should be given up."

¡¡¡¡Powell said he believed the US-drafted resolution could be adopted "in the next days or weeks."

¡¡¡¡The improvement in US-German relations was driven by economic benefits and long-term political interests.

¡¡¡¡German exports to the United States, Germany's second largest overseas market, account for more than 10 percent of the total. German businessmen have warned the government against negative effects on German exports if relations with the United States continue to deteriorate.

¡¡¡¡In international affairs, Germany and the United States still need each other's support. Washington is particularly keen on Berlin's participation in reconstruction and peacekeeping in post-war Iraq. In security matters, the two countries share common interests in solving regional conflicts such as the one in the Middle East and fighting global terrorism.

¡¡¡¡However, controversies between Berlin and Washington remain, which could be points of future conflicts. While Washington is pursuing a unilateral foreign policy, Berlin favors a multilateral approach in handling world crises.

¡¡¡¡In a recent interview with Der Spiegel magazine, Schroeder said,"Our view of the world order is not unipolar, but a multi-polar world, which means that conflicts should be solved in the most possible peaceful ways, in respect of state sovereignty and international laws and under the auspices of the United Nations."

¡¡¡¡Although Washington is seeking German involvement in rebuildingIraq, the two allies are still split over the UN role in post-war Iraq. While the United States would only like to give the United Nations humanitarian and overseeing roles in post-war Iraq, Germany calls for a leading function for the world body. At the joint press conference, Fischer did not endorse the US way of lifting the sanctions against Iraq.

¡¡¡¡The European security and defense union proposed recently by Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, has also given rise to US suspicion. Former US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke called the defense initiative "senseless" and warned Germany against participating in "an alliance against the United States." Enditem

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