“We are in contact with the Arab League to do whatever possible in this respect,” he added.

In a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini, Prince Saud indicated that such mediation efforts would be conducted after the ongoing Arbil initiative.

“Right now the Iraqis are busy with the Arbil initiative and any new reconciliation talks will be after that initiative,” he said.

Prince Saud underscored the good response to the peace initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah from the Iraqi leaders. “King Abdullah has left no stone unturned to end the bloodbath in Iraq and unify the Iraqi ranks.”

The Saudi minister denounced the terrorist attacks in Iraq that have killed hundreds of innocent people and injured many others. He also referred to attacks on religious places in Iraq and said Islam strongly prohibited such attacks.

He said his talks with Frattini were positive and covered major regional and international issues, most importantly the Middle East peace process and ongoing efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

“We also discussed the issue of terrorism and underscored international efforts to thwart terrorist plots,” Prince Saud said and called for greater cooperation among the international community to combat terror.

Speaking on the situation in Lebanon, he said the two countries wanted Lebanon to remain stable and secure and urged Lebanese leaders to give priority to protect their country’s higher interests rather than those vested in their parties.

“We request all Lebanese parties to show restrain and respond to the call of President Michel Suleiman for dialogue to solve their problems on the basis of constitutional principles, without creating any tension or escalation,” he said.

Referring to the division of Sudan into two countries, Prince Saud said efforts should be made to avoid any possible dangers. He said Saudi Arabia has stopped mediation between the Afghan government and Taleban after learning that the latter was harboring terrorists.

Frattini welcomed King Abdullah’s initiative to reconcile Iraqi groups. “Saudi and Italian views are identical on many important issues,” he said. The Italian minister praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to establish peace and stability all over the world. Frattini emphasized that the Israelis must stop building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.