US should be ready to scrap shield plan-German SPD

BERLIN, May 29 (Reuters) The leader of Germany's Social Democrats called today for a renewed commitment to global disarmament and said the United States must be ready to consider abandoning its planned missile defence shield in central Europe.

Kurt Beck, whose SPD governs in a grand coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, wrote in an editorial for the International Herald Tribune newspaper that US plans to deploy a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic would not counter the real threat from terrorism.

''The consultation processes within NATO and in the NATO-Russia Council must be extended,'' wrote Beck, the SPD's most likely candidate for chancellor in Germany's next scheduled parliamentary election in 2009.

''That means not only informing the members of these organisations about one's own plans but also entertaining a willingness to abandon them if necessary.

''There is a need ... for joint consultation on whether such a missile defence system is really needed,'' he said in the editorial, published just over a week before Merkel hosts the Group of Eight (G8) leaders for a summit.

He said that relations between Russia and the West had been harmed by the missile shield plans, while questions had been raised over whether the project, which has cost Washington 0 billion so far, will actually work.

Instead, world leaders should renew their commitment to disarmament, said Beck, striking a chord which is likely to resonate with left-wing German voters who oppose armaments.

''Disarmament policy must ... be urgently re-established as a key regulatory principle in international relations,'' he wrote.

''Major international disarmament regimes are already in shreds or have been completely destroyed.'' Beck has maintained a low profile in foreign affairs since becoming head of the SPD a year ago and the editorial will be seen as an indication that he is seeking to increase his standing amid buoyant poll ratings for Merkel and her party.

Beck's party colleague, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is also seen as a possible candidate for chancellor after winning praise for his work on the international stage.

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