ALTENGRABOW - German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday he would kick off talks with the defence industry as early as next week to speed up arms procurement and ramp up ammunitions supplies.

"My primary task now is to enter into talks with the defence industry with the aim of significantly shortening procurement times," he told reporters on the sidelines of a military exercise in Altengrabow in eastern Germany.

"If you look at ammunition, there is also the issue of quantity. This is another topic that I will raise in my talks with the defence industry, likely as early as next week if the schedule permits it," he added.

(Reporting by Claudia Doerries, writing by Sabine Siebold Editing by Madeline Chambers )