Berlin ruled out Saturday offering support for projects in Iraq undertaken by the German archaeologist and aid worker Susanne Osthoff, who was released this month after spending more than three weeks in the hands of Iraqi abductors, DPA reported. A German Foreign Office spokesman confirmed a report in the daily "Neuen Osnabr}cker Zeitung" that 43-year-old Osthoff had been requested not to return to Iraq following her release. Osthoff, who speaks fluent Arabic and has been a long-term resident of Iraq, was the first German to be kidnapped in Iraq. But according to the newspaper, despite the warnings, Osthoff hopes to live once again in Iraq. However, Osthoff's project to develop a German cultural centre in the north Iraqi city Arbil is unlikely to receive official support. Also Foreign Office plans to spend 40,000 euros in the redevelopment of a caravanserai in the city of Mosul is now also unlikely to proceed.
