Rice says US presence at talks with Iranian envoy proves western unity

(17 Jul 2008) SHOTLIST 1. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice walking into State Department Treaty Room with Alexander Stubb, the Foreign Minister of Finland 2. Push in as Rice and Stubb shake hands 3. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "Well, we'll see what the Iranians say. I think it's going to be very clear to them that the international community and the P5 plus 1 are completely united in both tracks - that is offering the Iranians a way to really engage with the international community, but also being insistent that they need to suspend verifiably their programme in order to enter negotiations. (Press questions... inaudible) I don't know. We are obviously, the point that we're making is that the United States is firmly behind this diplomacy, firmly behind and unified with our allies and hopefully, the Iranians will take that message." 4. Rice and Stubb walk out of Treaty Room; doors close STORYLINE: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday the Bush administration's decision to break with past policy and send a top diplomat to weekend talks with an Iranian envoy proves the international community is united in trying to eliminate threats from the Iranian nuclear programme. Speaking to reporters during a photo opportunity with Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, Rice said, "The point that we're making is the United States is firmly behind this diplomacy, firmly behind and unified with our allies and hopefully the Iranians will take that message." "It's going to be very clear to them that the international community and P5-plus-1 are completely united," she added. The P5-plus-1 is the group of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany that has offered Iran incentives to halt activities that could lead the development of nuclear weapons. Senior diplomats from the group will meet on Saturday in Switzerland with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator to hear Tehran's final response to the incentives package. For the first time, the United States will participate in such a meeting with the Iranians with the State Department's third-ranking diplomat, William Burns, scheduled to attend. Previously, the administration had refused to deal directly with the Iranians until they suspended their uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. Bush administration officials insist the US presence at the talks does not signal a shift in policy against direct negotiations with Iran. U.S. officials say Burns will be listening, not negotiating, and that his presence is a sign of America's commitment to peacefully resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...