Quotes of the Day

After U.S. secretary of State Colin Powell spent a day in Berlin last week trying to patch up post-Iraq diplomatic damage, the question was clear: Does either side really want to make nice? Before Powell held talks with Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, he met briefly with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, with whom he was photographed shaking hands. Will the Chancellor enjoy the same photo op with President George W. Bush when the two attend summits in Russia and France in late May and early June? The two haven't spoken since November.

The Germans have made it clear that Schröder wants "more than a handshake," in the words of one senior German official. To help earn it, he and Powell made progress on a U.N. resolution aimed at lifting sanctions against Iraq. But it could take a long time to get more. "The reality is we have different priorities, different capabilities and different responsibilities," says Jeffrey Gedmin, director of the Aspen Institute in Berlin, an American-backed think tank. "To pretend that it's still this cosy cold war NATO where we always agree — those days are gone."

• CHARLES P. WALLACE/Berlin