TEHRAN, May 15: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will meet on May 31 for a new round of talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, the IRNA news agency said on Tuesday.

Larijani and Solana last met on April 25-26 in the Turkish capital Ankara to discuss Iran's nuclear row with the West.

IRNA said they agreed to meet again during a telephone discussion in which they emphasised the need for a “logical and legal solution through diplomatic means.” It did not say where the meeting would take place.

A spokeswoman for Solana said she could not confirm a date or venue for the next round of talks but the EU foreign policy chief told a reporter on Monday he expected it would be around the end of the month. Solana made clear in an interview with a German newspaper that any talks with Iran would be difficult and take time to find a solution.

“Our dispute over the Iranian nuclear programme cannot be resolved in hours, or days or months. It will probably take years,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung according to extracts of an interview to be published in full on Wednesday.

US officials have warned of a third, tougher resolution if Tehran does not halt such work, but Iranian leaders have repeatedly said they will not bow to such pressure.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said it was clear Iran continued to defy the international community.—Reuters