Angela Merkel reached out Wednesday to the United States in her first foreign trip as German chancellor, saying it was time to heal the trans-Atlantic rift caused by Germany's opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. After meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Merkel praised the alliance's role in solving world problems and spoke of closer relations with the Bush administration. "I believe the ties between the United States and Germany can be developed further," she said.However, she also said she would not allow Germans to train Iraqi troops inside Iraq, sticking with the policy of her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, who was a strong foe of the war. She said Germany would still provide such training in other countries in the Middle East.