BERLIN, Nov 17: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has welcomed the appointment of Condoleezza Rice as the new US secretary of state with a call for the United States to listen closer to its allies.

Schroeder was a fierce opponent of the US-led war in Iraq and he said that the United States "would now recognise that you can certainly win a war alone, but not the peace, and that as a consequence they should discuss with greater care than ever before with partners who must be available at all times to talk."

In an advance copy of an interview with Thursday's Die Welt newspaper, Schroeder said he would miss Rice's predecessor Colin Powell, "but I am delighted to be working with Condoleezza Rice".

Schroeder dismissed suggestions that Germany was relieved by President George W. Bush's re-election, because the Democratic contender John Kerry might have asked for Germany to engage in post-war efforts in Iraq. "We had no particular wishes or expectations regarding the American elections, not even in secret," Schroeder said. -AFP