Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Monday that an international monitoring group should be formed for a viable solution in Gaza, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
"Implementation of a sustainable solution under the international guarantee is only possible with the formation of an international monitoring group, and Turkey would not hesitate to takeover such mission if it is asked or demanded," Babacan was quoted as saying at the joint press conference held with the visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem here on Monday.
Both of them repeated their call for an immediate cease-fire.
"The priority must be an end to the human tragedy," Babacan said, adding that nothing could justify the deaths of civilians, women and children.
Moallem said Turkey and Syria were working toward uniting their efforts to get a cease-fire and the opening of border crossings.
He arrived in Ankara on Monday for a one-day visit, with Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip high on agenda of his meetings with Turkish leaders.
Moallem's visit follows an announcement by Babacan last Monday that it ended efforts to organize indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria because of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
In May, Syria and Israel, technically still at war since the first Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, began Turkish-mediated indirect talks after direct negotiations halted eight years ago over the thorny Golan Heights issue.
Following four rounds of negotiations, the process has been on hold since outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced in July he would step down over corruption allegations.
Turkey, who condemned Israel for the ground offensive, has called on the Jewish state to immediately end its operation in Gaza, and appealed to the UN Security Council to take steps to end the violence.
Tens of thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks battled Hamas Monday, on the tenth day of the massive military operation, as the Palestinian death toll from the offensive surpassed 500.
Source:Xinhua
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