The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

The United States has shifted position on diplomacy with Iran by sending a senior envoy to Geneva to participate in nuclear talks with Iran's top negotiator, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed.

But she insisted that Tehran must suspend its enrichment and reprocessing of nuclear materials for substantive talks with Washington.

"The United States doesn't have any permanent enemies," Rice said in response to a reporter's question on the unexpected move to send a diplomat to meet directly with Iran's negotiator Saeed Jalili in Geneva on Saturday.

"And we hope this signal we're sending, that we fully support the track that Iran could take for a better relationship with the international community, is one the United States stands fully behind."

"We have been very clear that any country can change course," Rice added.

"This decision to send Undersecretary (William) Burns is an affirmation of the policy that we have been pursuing with our European alliest for some time now."

Rice called the move "a strong signal to the entire world that we have been very serious about this diplomacy and we will remain very serious about this diplomacy."

Rice pointed out that she had endorsed the proposal from the so-called P5 plus one-the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany-on incentives to advance talks with Iran on halting its nuclear program.

She called sending Burns to Geneva to meet with Jalili and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana the "book end" to that process.

"But it should be very clear to everyone the United States has a condition for the beginning of negotiations with Iran, and that condition remains the verifiable suspension of Iran's enrichment and reprocessing activities," Rice said. Asked in an interview with CNN, excerpts of which were aired Friday, whether sending Burns to Geneva was a major policy change, Rice answered:

"I acknowledge that what we've done is to make a step that we think demonstrates to everyone our seriousness about this process.

Another report from Tehran: Iran hopes that talks to be held on Saturday with the EU foreign policy chief will create a "framework for negotiations" to end the nuclear crisis, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.

"I hope that today's talks will lead to a framework for negotiations," he said, according to the websites of Iranian state broadcasting and Arabic-language channel Al-Alam.

"We hope that in today's talks a modality and framework that satisfies both sides is compiled," Mottaki added, on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran.

He did not give further details on what steps this framework would involve.

Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, will meet the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana later on Saturday in Geneva to discuss a package of incentives offered by world powers to Tehran.

In a major policy shift by Washington, US Under-secretary of State William Burns will also attend the talks.

Mottaki predicted that the meeting between Solana and Jalili would be followed by similar sessions.

"Today's meeting is likely to result in other meetings so that the views are gathered in one place and then agreed upon in a form that satisfies both sides," he said.

"We regard as positive and constructive the arrangements in form which have been made for Geneva talks," he added.

Media reports have said world powers have offered to start pre-negotiations over a six-week period during which Tehran would add no more uranium-enriching centrifuges and in return no further sanctions would be imposed.