[The German Chancellor first made some introductory comments in German.]

SG: Thank you very much, Mr. Chancellor, ladies and gentlemen. I'm also extremely pleased to be back in Berlin –this dynamic, revitalized, ever-changing city. And each time I come back, I see how much the city has changed and improved.

And I'm extremely happy also to have the chance to exchange views with my good friend, the Chancellor. Whenever we get together, we cover lots of territory. And as you've heard from him, we've discussed quite a lot of issues. In addition to the ones he has listed, we also talked about Cyprus, the need to try and find a solution, and the need for the parties to work with me, and possibly going back to the plan that is on the table. And as I have indicated to the parties, my good offices are available the moment they show the will –the political will –to move forward and seek a settlement.

We also talked about [the] Middle East. It's a difficult situation. The Road Map is in a bit of a distress. Some think it's dead, but it's not dead at all. “Distress” doesn't mean death. But we hope we can get it back on track. But I think there's a new mood, a new mood developing in the region. We've seen how active civil society on both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, has been. We've all read about the Geneva initiative. I met the team that developed the initiative in New York. We also know about the [Ami] Ayalon—[Sari] Nusseibeh proposals, as well as other civil society activities. And I think this new dynamic, I hope, would inspire the leaders of both parties to take the necessary steps to get back to the negotiating table and lead their people out of the misery and the pain that they are living in now. It is encouraging that today, in almost all the newspapers in the region, they are talking about the peace alternative. People know there is an alternative. It doesn't have to be all the killing that is going on. It need not continue.

I was also very pleased to hear the Chancellor support the reform efforts very strongly, an indication of his support and Germany's support for the reform effort. I think the UN is at a critical stage now. We all hear often about new threats and new challenges and the new environment we live in. If the challenges have changed and the environment has changed, so should the responses. And this is why we are trying to adapt ourselves to be able to deal with the new realities.

We also had the chance to talk about UN-German cooperation and we do intend to intensify that.

So Mr. Chancellor, let me thank you very much once again for receiving me here and giving me the customary, very warm and friendly welcome. Thank you.

Q: Mr. Chancellor, you made, without mentioning the name Wolfowitz, you were very clear that the exclusion of three countries –Germany, France and certainly Russia –from the reconstruction effort was something you deplored. Can I ask the Secretary-General what his view is on that?

SG: I think the decision was unfortunate. As I indicated in Geneva only yesterday, in the last couple of weeks, since the war, I've been making efforts to try, and we're all making efforts to bring people together. And I believe it is time we try to rebuild international consensus and work together and pool our efforts, as the Chancellor said, to stabilize Iraq. And whatever initiative or actions or decisions we take, I believe, should be unifying rather than divisive. And in that respect, I would not characterize the decision taken yesterday as unifying.

Q: [Inaudible]

SG: Any chance of reversing the decision?

Q: Yes.

SG: It is up to those who took the decision to reverse it or maintain it. And I hope something will be done about it.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, what has to be done in general to increase maybe to qualify better, to stabilize, the role of the UN in Iraq. Maybe one day to equalize it with Mr. [Paul] Bremer's administration so to achieve a real process of democracy beyond your concerns regarding the safety net for the UN staff?

SG: You said, “to coincide with Bremer's administration”? I didn't get that part.

Q: To increase the role, the function, of the UN authority in Iraq, because sometimes it seems you are far below the commanding centre of the Bremer administration.

SG: I think that, in the report I released yesterday, I indicated clearly how the UN was going to operate. That we are going to establish an office in the region, in Cyprus, with presence in Amman, and operate from there. There are things we can do from outside Iraq and there are other things that we may have to do cross-border, and of course monitoring the situation on a daily, weekly basis to see if the security situation improves to allow us to move back into Iraq. In that document which was issued yesterday, I indicated the areas where the UN can be of help, not just in areas of reconstruction and humanitarian affairs, but the whole constitutional and political process, leading to voter registration and elections, and the establishment of a full-fledged Iraqi government.

But of course, I've also asked for clarity. That clarity has to come from the Coalition and from the Iraqi Governing Council as to what role they expect the UN to play in the transition period. The transition period, being from now until the end of June, when they expect to establish a provisional Iraqi government. The document they signed is silent on the UN and UN role. And I hope that clarity would come. Once the government has been established, if they want the UN to help them through the constitutional process, elections, we have lots of experience and we will be prepared to help. And in fact, before the attack on UN headquarters [in Baghdad] on the 19th of August, we had sent a mission to Iraq –election experts from our electoral unit. They travelled [and] discussed with the Iraqi authorities as to what was required and what support we can bring to bear. So we will wait to get clarity.

Thank you.