Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have agreed to ask the United Nations to form a joint peacekeeping force in Syria, they said in a statement.
The minister said they will "ask the UN Security Council to issue a decision on the formation of a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping force to oversee the implementation of a ceasefire".
The foreign ministers also said in a statement that they will begin contacts with the Syrian opposition, offering political and financial support.
Arab diplomats "will open channels of communication with the Syrian opposition and offer full political and financial support, urging (the opposition) to unify its ranks," according to the statement obtained by AFP.
Syria "categorically" rejected the decision by Arab foreign ministers to back the Syrian opposition and call for a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping mission, Syrian ambassador to Egypt Yusef Ahmed said.
"The Syrian Arab Republic categorically rejects the decisions of the Arab League," which he said "reflects the hysteria of these governments" after failing to get foreign intervention at the UN Security Council.
