Call for Iraq power transfer

The two leaders stand close on both the EU and Iraq

Germany and France have called for a rapid transfer of power in Iraq from the US-led coalition to Iraqis.

President Jacques Chirac of France said the process should be led by the UN, and take place within months - not years.

Mr Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder expressed concern over the security situation in Iraq, and warned that the country could not be stabilised and rebuilt by military means alone.

The French and German leaders - who were speaking in Berlin after the second joint meeting of the governments of the two countries - will be discussing similar issues when they meet UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in the German capital on Saturday.

Germany and France have clashed with Britain and the US over the Iraq war, but have now suggested amendments to a US draft resolution as a way of compromise.

The draft says the UN should play a role in preparing for a new Iraqi Government but it does not cede any political or military control.

Police training

"We must move as quickly as possible toward... the rapid transfer, under the control of the UN, of the responsibilities of government to the current governmental bodies in Iraq," Mr Chirac told reporters after the joint cabinet session.

"And when I say as rapidly as possible, it is for us a question of months and not years naturally," he said.

The French leader said France would be ready to train Iraqi police - if Germany went ahead with its offer to do so.

Coalition troops are still frequently involved in combat

While his host, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder made no comment on Iraq, Mr Chirac said the two countries shared the same "vision and preoccupations about Iraq and the need to evolve toward the stabilisation and recovery of this country".

It was important, he said, to move away from military-type thinking in Iraq.

"A strictly security-based policy will not help restore security, development and stability in Iraq," Mr Chirac said.