A top Nato general was quoted on Saturday saying it would take time to plan any mission in Iraq even if Nato leaders gave the go ahead for an operation in June.
And addressing Berlin's concerns about military involvement in Iraq, Nato general Harald Kujat told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper Germany would not have to contribute officers to any Nato headquarters there. Germany has ruled out sending peacekeeping troops.
"If Nato's summit in Istanbul in June should decide (on Nato's involvement) - something that no one knows today - then it would take a while before preparations were finalised," said Kujat, chairman of the alliance's military committee.