His Majesty King Abdullah said the Palestinian, Iraqi and Lebanese files should be closed, otherwise the entire region will pay a heavy price.

King Abdullah told the Paris-based Al Watan Al Arabi weekly and the local Ad Dustour daily that Syria should show understanding of the Arab position and work with Arab countries to solve outstanding problems, especially Lebanon.

In the interview, which published on Thursday, the King said timing is crucial as far as Middle East peace is concerned.

“There is seriousness on the part of the US to solve the Palestinian issue," he said.

"We have a few months, and there is so much at risk if we do not make use of this remaining time,” said the King, in reference to the end of US President George W. Bush's term.

At the Annapolis peace meeting last November, the Palestinians and Israelis agreed to work for a peaceful settlement of the conflict before the end of 2008.

Palestinian officials have said that in the three months since the two sides launched their talks, no substantial progress has been made, accusing Israel of stalling the negotiations.

If there is no deal, “this means that there will be a new US administration, and we might need years to convince them, if ever, of the importance of a Palestinian state,” King Abdullah said.

He added that the situation in Palestine was explosive and warned Palestinians of the dangers of continued internal conflict.

Hamas seized Gaza in June of last year, weakening the Palestinian Authority which is in negotiations with Israel over final status issues of Jerusalem, borders, settlements and refugees.

“Our brothers in Palestine should settle their differences," he said. "My deepest concern is that the situation might explode and some parties would advocate scenarios that they want but that are refused by others; namely, that Egypt shoulders the responsibility for the Gaza Strip.”

King Abdullah said Jordan is very keen to include Syria in joint Arab action, adding “there is a collective Arab desire to have a successful summit meeting in Damascus”.

“I think Syria can play a major part in the success of the [March] meeting by helping solve some problems and making use of the available opportunity,” he said.