BAGHDAD, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi Thursday said after his visit to Saudi Arabia that he is optimistic about preventing armed conflict in the Middle East region and called for patience and more efforts to ease the regional tensions.
In a statement by his office, Abdul Mahdi said that he held meetings with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and discussed the regional situation, seeking to calm the situation to prevent any conflict or war.
Abdul Mahdi said that he put forward some ideas on how to find solutions to help ease tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, through improving their bilateral relations, especially in the fields of oil and trade, and the Iraqi side "received a very good response in our intensive meetings."
"We are closer to optimism to move forward to resolve the situation and prevent any possibility of fighting or war in the region," he said.
"Nobody wants war, but the situation is difficult and complex, and we must be patient and seek solutions acceptable to all parties," Abdul Mahdi added.
On Wednesday, Abdul Mahdi paid a visit to Saudi Arabia and discussed with Saudi top leaders relations between the two countries, regional situations and efforts to ease the tension in the Middle East.
The relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia have improved since Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Iraq in 2016 after 25 years of closure over Iraq's invasion of neighboring Kuwait in 1990.
