Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu promised to establish full diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia upon taking office, saying it would also promote peace with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also said he was ready to resume behind-the-scenes peace talks with the Palestinians.

The comments, made in a rare interview with the Arab news agency Al-Arabiya, were apparently intended to allay fears about the far-right government Netanyahu is forming.

He has already struck a series of coalition agreements with hardliners who favor harsher action against the Palestinians, more settlement building in the occupied West Bank and vehemently reject the idea of an independent Palestinian state.

He said he hopes to expand on the Abraham agreements on normalization reached with four Arab countries in 2020 - by striking a similar deal with Saudi Arabia.

Israel has long had behind-the-scenes contacts with Saudi Arabia based on their shared animosity toward Iran. But the Saudis have said that full diplomatic relations will be established only after an independent Palestinian state is established in the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.

Netanyahu said he would seek peace with the Palestinians, perhaps through cautious negotiations. But he refused to support a two-state solution, calling instead for a "fresh look" and creative thinking. Netanyahu spoke a little about his vision of peace, but made it clear that it did not meet Palestinian demands. 

Netanyahu and a group of far-right and ultra-Orthodox religious parties won a majority of seats in the Israeli parliament in the Nov. 1 election, giving them the opportunity to form a new government. He has reached a number of coalition agreements, but has not yet reached an agreement.

He has until December 21 to form a government.