Even as the Obama Administration has started pushing for the ambitious goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today said the US would maintain its nuclear deterrence.

In her major foreign policy speech on nuclear non-proliferation, Clinton said the Administration believes that the US must maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear arsenal to deter any adversary and guarantee the defence of its allies and partners, while it pursues such a vision of elimination of nuclear weapons.

"As the president has acknowledged, we might not achieve the ambition of a world without nuclear weapons, in our lifetime or successive life times. But we believe that pursuing this vision will enhance our national security and international stability," Clinton said in her speech at the US Institute of Peace.

All countries, she said, have an obligation, to help address the challenges posed by nuclear weapons, beginning with the nuclear weapons states.

"As the permanent members of the security council and the only nuclear weapons states recognized by the NPT, we all have a responsibility to stop the erosion of the non- proliferation regime and to address the current crisis of compliance in which some countries apparently feel they can violate their obligations and defy the Security Council with impunity," Clinton said.