Minister says Germany should strengthen Afghan role

BERLIN, July 9 (Reuters) Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Germany should strengthen its military training mission in Afghanistan, although some lawmakers in his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) want a withdrawal of troops.

In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine to be published today, Steinmeier said any reduction in the number of German troops in the NATO mission to Afghanistan would be problematic.

''During the course of the summer, we're going to have to discuss strengthening Germany's engagement with the training of the Afghan army,'' Steinmeier said. ''Obviously, I'll first be speaking about that with Defence Minister (Franz Josef Jung).'' Chancellor Angela Merkel refuses to countenance reducing participation in the NATO-led mission. Some lawmakers in her conservative Christian Democrats even want to send more troops.

But some members of her SPD coalition partner want a full withdrawal and many are pushing for Germany to at least slim down its role.

More than 20 German soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001, making the mission increasingly unpopular in Germany. A recent poll showed that nearly two thirds of Germans want to bring their troops home.

Germany's NATO peacekeeping mandate permits the deployment of up to 3,500 troops as part of the alliance's 40,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The SPD is lagging behind Merkel's conservatives and is hoping to boost its performance in polls by returning to its traditional role as Germany's peace party -- a position that is threatened by the rise of the new pacifist Left party.

Steinmeier recently said it may be time to look critically at Germany's mandate and possibly change it.

But in the interview with Der Spiegel, he said: ''Any reduction in our engagement would be in principle very difficult to explain, no matter what individual aspect would be affected.'' Reuters SBA VP0420