"There is no substantial change with the analysis of the threat in the Middle East country," said Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer to the Hesse Radio on Sunday.

The statements of reasons for a military strike were not sufficient, he said.

His analysis on the Iraq issue was largely agreed to by other foreign ministers of the European Union, said Fischer.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who is heading for Johannesburg to attend the World Summit on Sustainable Development on Sunday, will meet UN General-Secretary Kofi Annan on Monday to discuss the Iraq issue.

Last week, Defense Minister Peter Struck also expressed objections to US military plan on Iraq, saying the international anti-terror coalition could collapse because of the attack.

He also made clear that Germany would withdraw all its soldiers and tanks stationed for a US-led anti-terror operation in Kuwait to detect atomic, biological and chemical weapons in case that the deployments could be dragged into a war in Iraq.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2002)