RIYADH, March 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In a passionate appeal for an end to bloodshed, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, March 25, said it had proposed a peace plan to Iraq and the United States and is awaiting a response.

"We have made the proposal and we are waiting for a positive response. We have not been rebuffed," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told a press conference in the Saudi capital.

The prince, who was reported to have talked by telephone on Monday, March 24, with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, gave no details of the peace plan, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Despite the close ties between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has come under severe criticism in Saudi Arabia for launching the war against Iraq and the Saudi government has vowed it will not take part in the war "under any circumstances".

The statement issued by Arab foreign ministers "was presented by the Iraqi delegation and Iraq's foreign minister was pleased with its approval," he said in response to criticism of the communique by Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan.

Prince Saud said that after six days of heavy fighting in Iraq and the magnitude of losses, it was time to stop, especially since it has been realized "this war is not going to be a walkover".

"After the two sides saw what war could do, they should be able to assess the situation... This is a good time to stop the war. We hope we can get an echo to such calls," he said.

"Instead of continuing with the military action which will only bring massive losses, we should stop this war and give diplomacy a chance to find a solution," which must come within the U.N. framework, asserted the top Saudi diplomat.

"Obviously, this is going to be handled by the United Nations. This is the only organization that should discuss the matter," he said.

Prince Saud reiterated Riyadh's total rejection of a military occupation of neighboring Iraq.

"The Iraqi people are capable of running their own affairs and do not need foreign sides to manage its internal affairs," he said.

Prince Saud warned that the ongoing war could increase the wedge and hatred between Arabs and Muslims on one side and the British and American peoples on the other.

"The longer the war continues the more it breeds hate. This is why we want to stop it.

"I fail to see how a smart weapon is going to distinguish between a good Iraqi and a bad Iraqi. We need smart people to end the conflict," Prince Saud wondered.

He put the blame for the outbreak of the war on both sides.

"I don't believe that any war should be blamed on one side only. The two sides are responsible for the start of the war. We in the Arab world should not conceal our mistakes," Prince Saud said.

He recalled how the Iraqi government committed mistakes, and for 12 years failed to implement all U.N. Security Council resolutions, but insisted that Washington should have waited until U.N. arms inspectors had finished their work.

Prince Saud, however, stressed that the United States is not an imperialist country that has launched the war only for oil and to control the region.

"America is not an imperialist country ... I cannot recall that the United States had occupied a country for colonialist reasons... All U.S. troops which came to Saudi Arabia in 1991 left," he claimed.

U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia have doubled to 10,000 in the past month, but the kingdom said it will not take part in war or provide facilities.

Prince Saud’s announcement was greeted with surprise by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, who said: "We are not aware of any peace proposal from Saudi Arabia."

Earlier, unnamed U.S. officials downplayed the significance of any such plan for Iraq, suggesting it was more of a desire to see an end to the ongoing conflict than a concrete proposal.

Two other officials signaled that the United States would likely reject the offer.

"I think it's fair to say that we are not particularly impressed," one official said, adding that a more formal reaction to the plan would be offered later in the day by Boucher.

"It's a bit late in the game to be floating peace plans," a second official said, noting that U.S., British and Australian forces continued to advance on Baghdad with the aim of ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.