Hillary Clinton urges lawmakers to approve START

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on the Senate to approve the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between Moscow and Washington before the end of the year.

Speaking after a breakfast meeting with US lawmakers, Clinton branded the treaty as “critical” for bilateral relations with Russia. “That is why our entire military leadership, as well as six former Secretaries of State, five former Secretaries of Defense, three former National Security Advisors and seven former Commanders of US Strategic Command, support this treaty and support it now,” she said. Top Democratic leaders have been campaigning for the ratification of the START treaty in the “lame duck” sessions of Congress before the new Congress starts its work in January. Republicans, who made significant gains in the mid-term election, have been stalling the ratification of the treaty. In a recent development, key Republican senator Jon Kyl spoke against voting on the treaty this year.The START treaty is too important on a global scale to be a tool in a political game, believes Kate Hudson, campaigner for nuclear disarmament. ”We are among the many people around the world who really welcomed President Obama’s speech in Prague where he outlined his vision of a world without nuclear weapons and, of course, a vision that President Medvedev shares,” she said. “I think that it is absolutely reprehensible if Senators in the US Congress are obstructing the passing of this very important treaty for party, political or point scoring reasons.”