Senior US envoy to meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator

VIENNA: A senior U.S. envoy will sit eye-to-eye for the first time with a top Iranian nuclear negotiator Saturday, a sharp reversal in U.S. policy that aims to entice Tehran into ending activities that could be used to make atomic arms. The move to send Undersecretary of State William Burns to the Geneva nuclear talks has raised the hackles of Washington hardliners who say it signals U.S. weakness. But supporters say because both Tehran and the United States want to ease tensions, the move could breathe life into deadlocked nuclear talks. On the eve of the meeting, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that the talks themselves give hope "that there can be a peaceful solution" to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.