Bu$h admin. reverses course, will send envoy to talks with Iran
a.. A senior U.S. diplomat will join a meeting with Iran negotiator this
weekend
b.. Meeting with Iranian is a break from previous U.S. position
c.. William Burns is only ordered to listen to Iran and not negotiate
d.. U.S. says Iran must suspend enrichment program before direct talks
can
occur
WA****NGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration has decided to break with
previous policy by sending one of its most senior diplomats to engage
Iran's
top nuclear official, the White House announced Wednesday.
The move could dramatically alter the three-decade stand-off between the
U.S. and Iran. Some western nations and Israel suspect Iran is intent on
developing nuclear weapons and want Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.
Iran says it wants to develop nuclear power to produce electricity.
Undersecretary of State William Burns will accompany a European Union
delegation during a meeting with Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear
official,
in Switzerland on Saturday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. The
delegation meeting with the Iranians will be led by the European Union's
foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
The delegates will discuss an incentives program meant to encourage the
Islamic republic to drop its nuclear enrichment program, Perino said.
Watch
Amanpour re****t on the U.S. decision to send Burns »
The U.S. decision to attend the talks is not "linked in any way" to Iran's
missile tests last week, a senior administration official told CNN. The
official said the meeting "had been pending before" the tests occurred.
See
why the U.S. is worried about Iran's missiles »
But State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack told re****ters Wednesday
that
the president and his national security team decided only recently to send
Burns to the meeting.
Perino said the "one time" participation of the United States in the
meeting
is meant to show the United States and other permanent members of the
United
Nation's Security Council are united in the "long standing principle that
Iran -- in order to take advantage of the incentives package that was
quite
generous -- has to halt its nuclear enrichment." Watch why the White House
is sending an envoy »
A group dubbed the "P5 + 1," which consists of representatives from the
permanent members of the Security Council -- the United States, Britain,
France, China, and Russia -- and Germany, has been negotiating over Iran's
controversial nuclear program.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "believes it's a smart step to take.
There is no change in the substance but it sends a strong signal,"
McCormack
said. "It sends a strong signal to our P5+1 partners. It sends a strong
signal to the world. It sends a strong signal to the Iranian government
that
the United States is committed to diplomacy, to finding a diplomatic
solution to this issue."
McCormack said Burns will be under strict orders to listen to what Iran
has
to say but not engage in one-on-one discussions with the Iranian
negotiator.
Burns will also hammer home the point that any direct talks between the
United States and Iran will occur only after Iran suspends its enrichment
program, McCormick said.
"Iran needs to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing related
activities. Should they take that single step, the United States and its
partners in the P5+1 will meet with the Iranian delegation any time, any
place, anywhere to talk about a variety ... of subjects, but certainly our
focus will be on the Iranian nuclear program," McCormack said.
McCormack brushed aside criticism that the United States is giving up too
much to Iran.
"Is this a new tactic? Yes. Does it send a signal? Yes. Is the substance
[of
the U.S. position] any different? No," McCormack said.
Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, who has said he wouldn't
negotiate
face-to-face with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without
conditions,
said Wednesday he had "no problem ... whatsoever" with sending Burns to
Saturday's meeting with Jalili.
"We have many negotiations with many countries ... throughout the world,"
McCain told re****ters in Nebraska, noting the U.S. ambassador to Iraq
previously met with an Iranian ambassador in Iraq.
However, McCain repeated that he wouldn't meet Ahmadinejad
unconditionally,
noting the U.S. considers Iran a sponsor of terrorism.
"To sit down without any preconditions with a state sponsor of terror
would
be a mistake," McCain said.
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