Rice: Direct Iran talks do not signal a break in US policy

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is denying that a decision to send a senior diplomat to nuclear talks with Iran amounts to a change in policy. The Bush administration previously had insisted it would not speak with the Iranians until they end suspect nuclear activities. Rice says the move to send Undersecretary of State William Burns to talks in Geneva on Saturday is a "strong signal" that the United States is serious about diplomacy. But she added that US negotiating conditions remain. Rice said Friday that Burns will reinforce the policy "that the United States has been pursuing since 2006."