Spain's foreign minister on Thursday asked Iran's top negotiator Ali Larijani to be "flexible" in the upcoming talks with the European Union (EU).

In a meeting with Larijani, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos urged him once again to be "flexible" and to take into account the concerns of the international community, the Spanish Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Larijani also met briefly with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, he said.

The Iranian top nuclear negotiator was at the Ritz Hotel where the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was also staying. An Iranian spokesperson said Larijani had no plans to meet with Annan.

It was Larijani's second visit to Spain in many months. He said on Thursday that he would meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in two days "somewhere in Europe", but did not disclose the venue.

The talks were originally planned to be held in Vienna on Wednesday but were postponed at the last minute. The EU hopes to persuade Tehran through diplomatic channels to halt its uranium enrichment in exchange for a package of incentives.

Senior officials from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany met Thursday in Berlin to discuss the next step to be taken after Tehran ignored a UN deadline to halt its nuclear enrichment program on Aug. 31.

Growing international concern has been raised as to whether Iran is hiding a nuclear arms development program, and the United States has been pushing for UN sanctions against the Islamic republic. Tehran insists that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful energy uses.

Source: Xinhua