BAGHDAD, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi officials in Baghdad said there was no firm date for senior officials from both sides to start talks on future relations, after a spokesman in Washington said they would start on Saturday.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the talks would begin in earnest on Saturday and that ambassador Ryan Crocker would lead the U.S. delegation.

"There is no starting gun today for these talks. We'll just kind of evolve along," U.S. embassy spokesman Phil Reeker said.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh also said there were no talks scheduled for Saturday.

He said when the talks began they would focus on security and the future role of the U.S. military, diplomatic and political relations between Baghdad and Washington, and economic and cultural ties.

Preparations for the talks have been under way for some time but no firm start date has been set. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari has said he hopes the pact will be concluded by July.

Crocker told Reuters in January the pact would frame the bilateral relationship for "years and even decades ahead". (Reporting by Paul Tait and Wisam Mohammed in Baghdad)

AlertNet news is provided by