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START Related Not Missiles Defense

WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com - U.S. Secretary of Hillary Clinton's Tuesday (6/4/2010) vowed to continue missile defense plan and said the plan is not associated with new nuclear disarmament agreement, after Russia threatened to withdraw from the treaty.

"START Treaty is not related to missile defense. It's about reducing the amount of each of our arsenal, our strategic offensive weapons," Clinton told reporters.

U.S. will work with them to try to find common ground about missile defense, which committed the U.S. to succeed him.

President Barack Obama, with Hillary, will sign a new START treaty with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday in Prague.

However, Russia was annoyed with the U.S. plans to place missile defenses system in eastern Europe. Moscow considered it as an attack plan to the regional influence.

Meanwhile, Hillary admitted to not knowing the words Lavrov. According to him, Russia's concerns on missile defense is not surprising for the U.S..

"We strive constantly to explain to them, the purpose of missile defense, the role that we believe can play to prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism," he asserted.

"We have consistently offered the Russians a chance to cooperate with us."