U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is optimistic about improving ties between Washington and Berlin. U.S.-German relations are excellent, he said in an interview with German public television on Thursday. Powell said both governments had taken great pains to repair damage done to the transatlantic relationship during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq. The secretary of state, who is attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers designed to boost the alliance’s role in the war-damaged country, was hopeful that Germany would get more involved in the reconstruction of Iraq in the next few months particularly as a deadline has now been set for transferring sovereignty of the country to the Iraqi people.