U.S. & World

GENEVA (CBS) ― Iran and the European Union's chief negotiators agreed on Saturday to resume talks on suspending uranium enrichment in two weeks, after Tehran ruled out freezing its program in talks that included the United States for the first time.

EU envoy Javier Solana told reporters after the Geneva talks with Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili that the two would speak either by telephone or personally.

"The meeting was constructive, but we didn't get still the answer we were looking for," Solana said.

Jalili said Tehran would remain constructive, but asked that Western powers not turn away from negotiations.

"Iran is calling on the Western powers to resume the dialogue," he said.

U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns was also present, but did not speak publicly.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Iran has two weeks to "give a clear answer."

"The White House stressed that Mr. Burns is not here to negotiate, he's here to listen," reported CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer in Geneva. "The U.S. has made it clear for a long time that it won't talk to Iran actively unless Iran stopped enriching uranium, which it hasn't done. So these talks are very preliminary."

Washington's participation had raised expectations of a possible compromise on a formula under which Iran would agree to stop expanding its enrichment activities. In exchange, six powers - the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany - would hold off on passing new U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

But doubt was cast over the value of talks less then an hour after they started, with Keyvan Imani, a member of the Iranian delegation, appeared to indicate that Tehran was not prepared to budge on enrichment.

"Suspension - there is no chance for that," he told reporters gathered in the courtyard of Geneva's ornate City Hall, the venue of the negotiations.

There also appeared to be little progress inside the talks.

"I've rarely covered international events where people are keeping their cards close to their chest like this," Palmer noted. She suggested that Iran could just be "stalling for time, waiting for a new president to take over in the White House."

A Western diplomat in Geneva familiar with their substance said the Iranians were focusing on "the second or third step" of substantial negotiations without addressing what the six powers say is a prerequisite for such talks to happen - a freeze of their enrichment program.

The presence of Burns at the talks - the first instance of the Americans attending such meetings - had led to hopes of compromise.

The enrichment issue is key because the activity can produce either fuel for nuclear power stations or the material used in the fissile core of warheads. Iran has defied three sets of U.N. sanctions demanding it cease its program, saying it has a right to its peaceful uses under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But there is growing concern the Islamic Republic might want to build nuclear weapons instead.

Recent Iranian statements suggest Tehran is looking to improve ties with the United States, with officials speaking positively of deliberations by the U.S. administration to open an interests section - an informal diplomatic presence - in Tehran after closing its embassy decades ago.

The U.S. said the Geneva talks would focus only on the nuclear issue, but Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Friday they could also result in agreements to open a U.S. interest-protection bureau and have direct flights between the two nations.

U.S. interests in Iran are now represented by the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

Iran and the United States broke off diplomatic relations after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Official contacts between the two countries are extremely rare.

Imani said Tehran had not yet received a proposal from the U.S. on opening a representation but would "study it positively" if it did.

He downplayed the presence of Burns - even though the Americans had previously said they would not talk with the Iranians on nuclear issues unless Tehran was ready to stop all enrichment activity. "He is (just) a member of the delegation" of the six countries engaging Iran on the nuclear issue, Imani said.

He also denied that the "freeze-for-freeze" formula - a stop to Iranian enrichment growth in exchange for no new U.N. sanctions - was formally on the agenda of the Geneva talks, saying the two sides were meeting to discuss common points of their diverging plans to ease nuclear tensions.

Solana and Jalili left together as the talks broke for lunch, speaking earnestly with each other. Burns followed some time later, accompanied only by an aide. All three declined to answer questions.

The Western diplomat - who demanded anonymity because his information was confidential - said Solana over lunch would try to coax Jalili into agreeing to discuss the "freeze-for-freeze" concept instead of skirting it and focusing on the next step - substantial negotiations between the two sides.

The United States and its five partners - Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany - remain committed to getting a full halt to Iranian enrichment. Still, Burns' decision to attend the Geneva talks shows that Washington may accept "freeze-for-freeze" - something less than full suspension - at least as a first step.

"Freeze-for-freeze" envisions a six-week commitment from both sides. Preliminary talks meant to lead to formal nuclear negotiations would start, Iran could continue enrichment but only at its present level, and the U.S. and its allies would stop pushing for new U.N. sanctions.

If this results in the start of formal talks, the Iranians would stop all enrichment temporarily. Those talks, in turn, are meant to secure Tehran's commitment for an indefinite ban on enrichment.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)