America and the Islamic republic have not talked officially for 27 years.
We talk officially and unofficially, and that tends to break down barriers.
Often state officials are not allowed to have contact with armed groups or terrorists, either for legal reasons or because of fears that this would confer legitimacy (American and European diplomats do not talk officially to Hamas, for example).
The upgrades that Google have been testing to their IM/VOIP client, Google Talk, officially launched today.
Saudi Arabia won't want to talk officially.
Jack Straw led the negotiations in 2005 when Turkey's membership talks were officially given the go-ahead.
Peace talks are officially under way, Kerry having pushed both sides to the table in late July.
The talks are officially designed to cover the G7 summit in Bavaria in June, to be chaired by Merkel.
Mr. Geithner said some progress on those areas had come out of the bilateral talks, known officially as the United States-China States-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue
