BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhuanet by Zhang Bihong ) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder left Berlin for the United States on Sunday for his seventh official visit to Washington, where he will meet on Monday with US President George W. Bush.

    On the agenda for the meeting are the situation in Iran after its presidential elections, the reform of UN Security Council and the future of the European Union.

    Germany, Britain and France are making diplomatic efforts, backed by the United States, to press Iran to give up its development of nuclear weapons.

    Schroeder is also expected to lobby the Bush administration to support Germany's effort to secure a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

    The United States has rejected a plan by Brazil, Germany, Indiaand Japan to become permanent members of the Council, proposing instead that "two or so" countries including Japan get a permanent seat.

    On Friday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan suggested no shift in the US position, saying: "In terms of positions on who ought to be on the Security Council, I mean, the only position we've taken is that we support Japan being a member of the Security Council."

    Germany and the United States witnessed stormy relations after Schroeder made strong opposition to the US-led invasion in Iraq.

    Schroeder will cut short his visit by a day as he will call a no-confidence vote in parliament on July 1 to pave way for an early federal elections in Germany.

    Schroeder made a surprise call for early elections after his Social Democrats were heavily defeated in a state election in the party's stronghold North Rhine-Westphalia in May.

    This visit is most likely his last as polls show the opposition Christian Democrats leads with a wide margin over Schroeder's Social Democratic party.

    Experts expected no major results to emerge from the talks as expectations about the meeting were played down before the visit by both sides.

    "I think the (Bush) administration regards the chancellor as alame duck," said Karl-Heinz Kamp, an expert on US policies at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. "Both leaders do not trust each other,but they are professional enough to get on with each other."

    Schroeder and his delegation will lodge for the first time in Blair House, the US government's official guesthouse, which is very close to the White House where the two leaders will meet for three hours on Monday.

    Another topic is the future of the EU, which has plunged into crisis after its failure to forge deal on a long-term budget and the postponement of plans to adopt a constitution because French and Dutch voters rejected the charter in referenda.

    Schroeder and Bush will meet again in nearly two weeks when they attend the summit of Group of Eight of leading industrialized countries plus Russia in Scotland, which is expected to focus on climate change and aid to Africa. They last met in February in Mainz, Germany. Enditem