Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday warned Europe and America against opposing each other over the Iraqi conflict, saying it was essential to build consensus on the issue within the North Atlantic alliance.
"The two sides must learn from each other," said de Hoop Scheffer in a statement at the Berlin press club. "Europe cannot unite against the United States, that would only end up dividing Europe."
De Hoop Scheffer also pleaded for the two sides to build a consensus over security issues within Nato, saying more time needed to be devoted to the issue.
Late last month, US General James Jones, the supreme allied commander in Iraq, indicated that 16 or 17 of the 26 Nato countries were ready to participate in training Iraqi security forces.
Most of the countries which said they were ready to begin training are already serving as part of the US-led coalition in Iraq. France and Germany, key opponents of the war in Iraq, now say they are ready to contribute to a Nato security training program, but only outside of Iraq.