Region | Iran
Rice hopes Iran will change course in Geneva talks
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday the United States would not soften its refusal to negotiate directly with Iran until Tehran gave up its nuclear program.
- Agencies
- Published: 21:07 July 18, 2008
Washington: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday the United States would not soften its refusal to negotiate directly with Iran until Tehran gave up its nuclear program.
In a change of policy, Senior State Department official William Burns will attend nuclear talks in Geneva along with other major powers.
Rice said Burns would deliver a clear message: Washington would only enter full-blown negotiations with if Iran stopped trying to develop an atomic weapon.
"That remains the US position and it will continue to be the US position," Rice said at a news conference.
While Iran was a "difficult and dangerous state," Rice said she believed any country could change course.
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