American and Iranian officials meet

We are told that William Burns, the US delegate at the Geneva talks, met his Iranian counterpart, Saeed Jalili, for about half an hour during a break in the proceedings, over a buffet lunch. That makes it the most significant official encounter between the two nations since the revolution. There were indirect contacts during Iran-Contra but not between serving officials. The two countries have talked about Afghanistan and Iraq but that was in multilateral discussions. Burns was here in Geneva last year but as an observer. He didn't speak. Richard Holbrooke sidled up to a deputy Iranian deputy foreign minister, Mohammad-Mehdi Akhoundzadeh, in April this year in The Hague. The US said it was "brief and cordial", and the Iranians denied it ever happened. So this is something of a breakthrough. The Obama administration is determined to prove that it is different from its predecessor, and willing to talk without any preconditions. Whether the Iranians are interested or not is another matter. If, in a few hours, they deny this meeting happened, then we'll know I suppose.
For those interested, the buffet menu included trout almondine and sablefish. The delegates spilled out into the garden, with a splendid view of the lake and mountains.