The United States will keep strengthening cooperation with Russia but will not avoid discussions of disputable issues, State Secretary Hillary Clinton said Monday.
"We have been working to reset our relations. We think it is in everyone's interests, including our friends in the Baltics to have a more constructive, cooperative relationship with Russia," Clinton said at a joint press conference with her Lithuanian counterpart Audronius Azubalis.
"And I think we've seen a number of positive steps. The New START Treaty is clearly one such step and we're working very hard to get it ratified by the United States Senate," she said.
Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama signed a new arms cuts treaty on April 8 in Prague to replace the START 1 agreement that expired in December 2009. The agreement will come into force only after being ratified by both chambers of the Russian parliament and the U.S. Senate.
The treaty has met strong Republican opposition in the Senate over concerns that it may weaken U.S. anti-missile defenses. The delay in the document ratification could hamper progress in U.S.-Russian relations.
Clinton also said: "We continue to raise concerns about territorial integrity of a country like Georgia. We continue to work toward energy security so that there are more sources of energy and more competition in the energy market and other areas as well."
"But on balance, we think that the relationship between the U.S., between NATO, and between Europe and Russia today is on a stronger foundation, which we think is in everyone's best interest," she said.
WASHINGTON, November 16 (RIA Novosti)
