Saudi council of ministers recommits to preventing regional conflict

Statement comes amid heightened tension in region

Saudi Arabia's King Salman attends a summit between Arab league and European Union member states, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, February 24, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers reiterated the country's commitment to balancing global oil markets and preventing regional conflict amid tensions between Iran and the United States, state media reported on Wednesday.

The kingdom "will do everything in its power to prevent any war and its hand is always extended to peace", a Cabinet statement said. The government is also committed "to achieving balance in the [oil] market and working towards its stability on a sustainable basis".

King Salman chaired the Cabinet's session at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cabinet welcomed the results of an Arab ministerial meeting in Tunisia last week.

Saudi Arabia will host two emergency summits to discuss the implication of recent attacks against the kingdom.

The meeting came amid heightened tensions in the region after the tightening of US sanctions on Iran, particularly its vital oil exports, the deployment of US warships and bombers to the region and attacks on an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia and on tankers off the coast of the UAE.