Germany, Spain and France have been planning to take a joint initiative by pushing a new UN resolution on Iraq to end the increasingly severe situation in the country, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced in Berlin Wednesday.  

Spain has been interested in the tri-party initiative to solve the Iraqi problem as soon as possible, Zapatero told a joint press conference after meeting with Schroeder.

The three parties will conduct intense discussions with European Union as well as the United States over the concrete steps of the draft resolution, Zapatero said.

Schroeder said Germany is fully prepared to take part in such negotiations, adding that it's the right time for a new UN Security Council resolution.

Schroeder made it clear that other countries can also join the negotiations.

Zapatero, whose first decision on taking office was to withdraw troops from Iraq, is due to hold talks with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2004)