Baghdad, March 23, IRNA-Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on Thursday called on Iran and the US to launch meetings and talks on Iraq as soon as possible.

"I hope the US and Iran will start their meetings and talks as soon as possible and the knot in relations between the two countries would be untied through the negotiations," Jaafari told a press briefing here on Thursday.

He said Iraq strives for improvement of relations between its neighbors and other countries, considering it as an effective method for guaranteeing regional security.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said last year that Tehran has welcomed a proposal by speaker of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) Abd al-Aziz Hakim for talks with the US on Iraq.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki too said later that Iran will talk with the US on Iraq in line with its assistance to the country and the government-building process there.