US Official Joins Iran's Top Nuclear Negotiator, EU Foreign Policy Chief for Closed-Door Meeting
US Undersecretary of State William Burns in Old Town of Geneva after lunch break during meeting with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and EU foreign policy chief, 19 Jul 2008A senior U.
By VOA News
19 July 2008
Source: VOA.com
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US Undersecretary of State William Burns in Old Town of Geneva after lunch break during meeting with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and EU foreign policy chief, 19 Jul 2008A senior U.S. envoy is, for the first time, taking part in talks with Iran about its nuclear program Saturday in GenevaUndersecretary of State William Burns joined Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana for the closed-door meeting. Officials from Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China were also due to attend.As the talks began, Iranian officials ruled out suspending Tehran's uranium enrichment program - a key demand of Western powers.A member of the Iranian delegation, Keyvan Imani, said the "freeze-freeze" approach - where Iran would temporarily stop its enrichment work in exchange for no new U.N. sanctions - is not on the agenda of the talks. Until now, the Bush administration has insisted on shunning any nuclear talks with Iran until it stops enriching uranium.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday sending Burns to the talks is a "strong signal" the United States is serious about diplomacy with Tehran. However, Rice said the move to does not soften the key U.S. demand that Iran stop enriching uranium, which could produce weapons-grade nuclear materialAhead of the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said he hopes that viewpoints expressed at today's meeting will lead to future talks.The United States and its Western allies have accused Iran of working to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran says its atomic program is peaceful.
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