As Turkey looks to use both its regional influence and newly acquired U.N. Security Council mandate to step up diplomacy to end an Arab deadlock and bring all parties in the Gaza crisis together to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, late yesterday it announced it would consider sending troops if needed.

"We can send troops to the region if it is going to contribute to peace," government spokesman Cemil Çiçek said at the end of a Cabinet meeting.

The failure of Arab countries to adopt a joint position on the issue, which took a grave turn with Israel’s ground operation into Gaza, further complicates efforts for peace. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan embarked on a regional tour last week to deliver a unifying message, while Ankara separately hosted Egyptian and Syrian foreign ministers over successive weeks.

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