AMMAN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday held talks with visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, during which Abdullah stressed the important role of the United Nations in pushing the Middle East peace process forward.

    The role played by the UN to bring Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table and to alleviate the economic difficulties facing the Palestinians is highly appreciated, said Abdullah.

    The Jordanian king called for seizing the current opportunity to achieve just and comprehensive peace in the region based on a2002 Arab peace initiative, which is expected to be revived at the upcoming 19th Arab summit due on March 28-29 in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

    He also urged to continue coordination among Arab and international parties to resume the stalled Mideast peace processin line with international legitimacy resolutions and a two-state solution for the Palestinians and Israel.

    Ban Ki-moon briefed Abdullah on his tour to the region and expressed the UN's support to efforts exerted to resume the peace process in the region and enable Iraq to overcome the current crisis.

    Ban and Abdullah will later fly separately to Saudi Arabia for the two-day Arab summit.

    Ban arrived here after visiting Israel, where on Monday he suggested that a possible meeting grouping Israel, some Arab states and the international Middle East Quartet was a good option to jump-start peace talks.