Clinton hits back over missile threat | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

BRUSSELS, Dec 8, 2011 (AFP) _ US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hit back on Thursday at a Russian threat to deploy weapons in response to a NATO missile shield as the two sides failed to defuse a rift over the US-backed system.

``We will continue to press forward on missile defence,'' Clinton told a press conference in Brussels after talks between NATO foreign ministers and their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.``It does not affect our strategic balance with Russia and it's certainly not a cause for military counter-measures,'' she said.Despite the disagreement, the two sides agreed to forge ahead with negotiations on cooperating in the system but Lavrov warned that time was running out.Seeking to allay Russian fears that the defence system to be deployed partly in former Soviet bloc countries will undermine Russia's strategic arsenal, Clinton said it was mainly aimed at countering a threat from Iran.``This is not directed at Russia, it is not about Russia. It is frankly about Iran and other state or non-state actors who are seeking to develop threatening missile technology,'' she said.President Dmitry Medvedev last month announced that Russia was ready to deploy intermediate range Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave that borders EU members Poland and Lithuania.Russia later also switched on a new radar warning system against incoming missiles in Kaliningrad and said it reserved the right to strike NATO's European shield components if its demands were not met.Top Russian General Nikolai Makarov has warned that Moscow was ``being pushed'' into a new arms race.Clinton already angered Russia this week by voicing ``serious concerns'' about the country's parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused her of provoking post-election protests.The US chief diplomat defended her remarks, saying she was ``supportive of the rights and aspirations'' of the Russian people to seek ``a better future.''NATO and the United States have sought to improve ties with Russia since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.The former Cold War foes agreed last year to explore...