Germany no longer rules out making a military contribution in post-war Iraq and would be ready to send medical evacuation helicopters to the war-torn country, the daily Die Welt reported in an advance copy of its Thursday issue.
The report said that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told a closed-doors meeting of parliament's foreign affairs committee Wednesday that he would be willing to send MedEvac helicopters from Germany's Bundeswehr armed forces to Iraq provided the United Nations gave its mandate.
If the UN were to give Nato such a mandate, which Die Welt said was expected, then "we will not stand in Nato's way," the newspaper quoted Schroeder as telling deputies. Such a move would also require the approval of the parliament.