Turkey says international monitoring group should be formed for Gaza

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem met his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Monday and the two ministers hold a joint press conference.Â

"The implementation of a sustainable solution under an international guarantee is only possible with the formation of an international monitoring group... Turkey would not hesitate to take on such a mission if it is asked or demanded," Babacan told at the press conference.

Moualem and Babacan called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Moualem is in Ankara to discuss Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip and other regional issues. He earlier met Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul during his one-day visit.

The visit follows an announcement by Babacan last Monday that it was ending 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 in retaliation for Hamas rocket attacks, and appealed to the U.N. Security Council to take steps to end the violence.

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks battled Hamas Sunday, on the ninth day of the massive military operation, as the Palestinian death toll from the offensive surpassed 500.