PRAGUE, November 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Germany insisted Thursday, November 21, it would not take part in any military action against Iraq even after other NATO leaders pledged to take "effective action" supporting U.N. efforts to disarm Baghdad.

In stark contrast to other NATO heads gathered for a landmark summit in Prague, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Berlin's position had not changed, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"What I said before applies now and will continue to apply," Schroeder told reporters.

"Participation does not come into the question."

The message was reiterated by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and Defense Minister Peter Struck.

They made it clear that while Berlin would study a U.S. request for possible assistance in the event of a strike on Iraq, it was on the understanding that Germany would not take part.

Schroeder's anti-war rhetoric helped his ruling coalition scrape to victory in September elections, but angered U.S. President George W. Bush, who was then further offended by a German minister comparing his methods to those of Hitler.

U.S.-German relations soured, and although both sides say the ice has since been broken, there was still an obvious chill in the air at the Prague summit.

Schroeder and Bush have twice shaken hands here, once at a dinner Wednesday, November 20, and a second time during proceedings Thursday, but there was no prospect of a one-to-one meeting.

"We greeted each other, cordially," Bush said of their first encounter, an off-camera handshake.

Asked to assess the state of relations, he responded business-like: "Germany is an important friend of the United States.

"We've got a relationship to maintain and we will maintain it."

By the time he leaves Prague Friday, November 22, Bush will have had talks with the leaders of Britain, France, Turkey and the Czech Republic as well as NATO Secretary General George Robertson - but not Schroeder, although the White House insists it "is not a snub."

As the second handshake was caught on camera, Schroeder told reporters with a smile, insisting every good friendship had occasional differences.

Although his anti-war stance was a popular election message, politically it has left him in a corner as it is also a key tenet of his coalition allies the Greens, without whose support his government would collapse.

Fischer, the Greens' figurehead, said the position "is unequivocal: we will not take part. That is the situation."

Government spokesman Bela Anda said Berlin had received a request from the United States about potential military assistance.

"The request has arrived and will be thoroughly studied on the clear basis of a German non-participation in the possible military action against Iraq and our alliance commitments and our legal possibilities," he added.

Anda did not say what contribution the United States had sought.

Officials in Washington have said the administration has sounded out around 50 nations for possible support in case of a war, such as troops, equipment or bases.

Germany would be obliged under a U.N. or NATO-led operation to give access to military bases and overflight rights.

The situation is less clear-cut if the United States decides to go it alone or at the head of a "coalition of the willing," in which case Washington would need Berlin's agreement to use German airspace or bases.

Fischer dodged a question on overflight rights, saying that "if there is a request, we will examine it.