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Proposed Anglo-German accord on defence, trade cooperation

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Starmer to meet Scholz, German business leaders in Berlin

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Heads later to France to meet Macron, Paralympics athletes

(Adds Starmer arrival in paragraph 3)

By Andrew MacAskill

BERLIN, Aug 27 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir

Starmer will discuss a landmark economic and defence accord with

German leaders on Wednesday, hoping to use a two-day visit to

the European Union's top powers Germany and France to reset

relations with the rest of the bloc.

Starmer said he wanted Britain to move beyond the previous

Conservative government's fractious relations with European

allies and put improved ties at the heart of his efforts to

boost Britain's economic growth.

In Berlin on Tuesday, Starmer visited the landmark

Brandenburg Gate, before meeting President Frank-Walter

Steinmeier early on Wednesday. Later, he was greeted with

military honors by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz outside the

chancellery under a bright blue sky.

Starmer will discuss with Scholz, a fellow leftist, a new

pact they hope will bring about an unprecedented degree of

bilateral military cooperation and greater collaboration in

areas such as trade and energy.

The pair will hold a joint press conference at midday.

"We must turn a corner on Brexit and fix the broken

relationships left behind by the previous government," Starmer

said in a statement. "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity

to reset our relationship with Europe."

Britain and Germany, NATO allies and western Europe's

biggest defence spenders, are looking for ways to increase

defence cooperation ahead of a possible scaling back of U.S.

military support for Ukraine if former U.S. President Donald

Trump returns to the White House early next year.

The Republican presidential candidate has warned that if

elected, he would fundamentally rethink "NATO's purpose and

NATO's mission". He has also not committed to sending further

aid to Ukraine and said he would not defend allies that do not

increase their defence budgets. Trump is locked in a tight race

with Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election.

Concerns that the U.S. could cut back support for Ukraine

have increased since Trump picked JD Vance as his running mate.

Vance has stressed his opposition to the U.S. writing "blank

checks" to help Ukraine fight off Russia's

two-and-a-half-year-old invasion.

An Anglo-German defence partnership could resemble the

Lancaster House pact between Britain and France agreed in 2010,

according to officials, with pledges to create a joint force and

share equipment and nuclear missile research centres.

The two sides will continue negotiations over the next six

months with the aim of completing the deal early next year,

according to Starmer's office. It would follow the signing of a

joint defence declaration in July.

On his trip to Germany, Starmer will also hold talks with

business leaders including Armin Papperger, chief executive of

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, who according to media

reports last month was the target of a Russian assassination

plot. The Kremlin said the reports were fake and could not be

taken seriously.

He will also meet Christian Bruch, Siemens Energy's CEO,

which employs about 6,000 people in Britain, to discuss further

investment and creating more highly skilled jobs.

After the talks in Germany, Starmer will head to Paris for

the Paralympics opening ceremony on Wednesday night, and hold a

breakfast meeting on Thursday with executives from companies

including Thales, Eutelsat, Mistral AI and Sanofi.

Starmer is expected to meet Paralympic athletes as they

prepare for competition, before having talks with President

Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace.