Key issues in relations between Germany and the United States as the 2008 U.S. presidential election approaches:

_ CLIMATE CHANGE. Germany has been a leading force in European efforts to set targets for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Berlin hopes the next U.S. president is more receptive to that drive.

_ AFGHANISTAN. Germany has more than 3,000 troops in the NATO-led security force in Afghanistan _ mostly in the country’s relatively peaceful north. It has repeatedly resisted pressure from its NATO partners, including the United States, to deploy to the volatile south.

_ IRAN. Germany and the United States are two of the six world powers leading the effort to resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Chancellor Angela Merkel says she aims for a diplomatic solution “and nothing else.”

_ IRAQ. An issue that sharply divided the United States and Germany at the time of the 2003 invasion, but less so now. Germany has helped train Iraqi security forces outside the country and forgiven debts to Iraq in an effort to assist in the country’s reconstruction.