ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan's prime minister said Sunday that the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program should be resolved through negotiations, not force.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz made the remarks at the opening of a meeting of foreign ministers from seven Muslim nations meeting to discuss ways to resolve tensions in the Middle East, a statement by Aziz's office said.

Ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, as well as Turkey's Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a 57-member bloc of Islamic states, held the meeting in the capital Islamabad.

Musharraf recently visited the six countries in addition to Iran and Syria for talks on settling conflicts in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fighting in Iraq and tensions between Washington and Tehran.

But Iran and Syria were not invited to the meeting, because "they are considered to be involved in the crisis" in the Middle East, a government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri spoke with his Syrian and Iranian counterparts about the gathering on Friday, the official said. He gave no additional details.

Pakistan has denied suggestions in the Arab media that Pakistan was forming a Sunni bloc opposed to Iran. Aziz's statement said that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomacy and the "use of force should be avoided."

Aziz also said that the Palestinian issue be revolved with "justice, equity and realism in line with the wishes of the Palestinian people."

Aziz urged Muslim states to join hands to jointly fight "radicalism and extremism" and said that the people of Iraq "must be enabled to decide their own future."

Musharraf has said he is trying to build consensus among countries who support "a conciliatory approach" to the region's problems.

Sunday's meeting was supposed to lay the groundwork for a summit of Muslim leaders to be held in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. No dates have been announced for that meeting.

On Friday, Musharraf spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who supported Musharraf's initiative, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported.

Pakistan - a key ally in the U.S.-led war against terrorism - has no diplomatic ties with Israel and supports a separate state for Palestinians with Jerusalem as its capital.