In a passionate appeal to both Baghdad and Washington for an end to bloodshed, Saudi Arabia said it had proposed a peace plan to Iraq and the United States and is awaiting a response.But there was a rapid response from Washington, where the State Department said it was "not aware" of any proposal having been made and Iraq also denied any knowledge of the plan.

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

Prince Saud, who spoke to US Secretary of State Colin Powell by telephone on Sunday, did not give details of the plan.

Earlier, US officials had already played down 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.

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf also denied his government had been presented with a Saudi peace plan.

He told Al-Jazeera television: "There is no basis for Saudi Foreign Minister (Saud al-Faisal)'s comments."

The proposal came after Prince Saud's talks earlier Tuesday in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak following an Arab foreign ministers' meeting, which demanded the "immediate and unconditional withdrawal" of British and US troops from Iraq.

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".

"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 UN framework, he asserted.

"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 Iraq.

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

He warned that the ongoing war could increase the divide 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.

PHOTO CAPTION

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, seen in this Jan. 28, 2003 file photo, told reporters Tuesday, March 25, 2003, that his kingdom has contacted the United States and Iraq with a peace proposal. He said he was awaiting a response. (AP photo / Laurent Reuters) - Mar 25 1:23 PM ET