The FINANCIAL -- According to Civil Georgia, “I have no reason to believe” that elements of missile defense system will be deployed in Georgia, Hillary Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state, said in an interview with Echo Moskvy radio station on October 14.

She also said that no decisions had been made yet where the system elements would be deployed. “Ideally what we would like to do is to cooperate jointly with Russia,” Clinton said.

Asked if Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov raised the issue of “rearming” Georgia by the United States during the meeting on October 13, Clinton responded that they had talked about Georgia and she also reiterated that the two countries had differences over Georgia.

“Georgia is providing troops in Afghanistan and we are training Georgians to be able to go to Afghanistan,” Clinton told the Echo of MOSCOW radio.

“But we are also making it very clear that we expect both Georgians, South Ossetians and Abkhazians and everyone else to avoid provocative action, to deal whatever problems they have through peaceful and diplomatic means,” she said.

Asked again about the issue of “rearming” of the Georgian army, Clinton responded: “Minister Lavrov did not ask me that question.”

“We will help the Georgian people to feel like they can protect themselves,” she added.

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