BERLIN, June 14 (Xinhuanet) -- German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer urged the United States to be more engaged in the Middle East peace process on Tuesday.

    "There is need for a strong, intensive engagement. The Europeans are doing so and I wish that the Americans would do so too," Fischer told a security symposium in Berlin.

    Fischer stressed the current rare opportunity for a solution to the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians. "If the window closed, the chance would be gone for ever," he said.

    The two sides have never before been "so close to one another" compared with the past, Fischer said.

    Fischer also highlighted the prospect of the engagement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Middle East. "I think there is little value in NATO's involvement in Iraq, but the value of the role of NATO in Middle East is relatively high," he said.

    As for possible German troops' dispatch to the Middle East following NATO's engagement, Fischer said Germany must be very cautious in its handling of "the sensitive issue." Enditem