Syria agreed to extend Arab League observers mission for one more month, hours after the Gulf Cooperation Council recalled its observers from Damascus.

Syria agreed to extend Arab League observers mission for one more month, hours after the Gulf Cooperation Council recalled its observers from Damascus.

"Foreign Minister Walid Muallem sent a letter tonight to the secretary general of the Arab League (Nabil al-Arabi) informing him of the Syrian government's agreement to extend the observer mission for one month, from January 24 until February 23, 2012," said a statement on Tuesday carried by the official SANA news agency.

An Arab League official in Cairo, Ahmed Marai, told CNN that 55 monitors from GCC countries have been withdrawn from the mission. The council called on other Arab countries to pressure Syria to implement Arab League decisions.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Muallem slammed the League after its weekend call for President Bashar al-Assad to hand power to his deputy and clear the way for a unity government within two months.

Muallem told a news conference that the latest Arab proposal was a violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and attacked the league's efforts to take its plan to the UN. He said the league was "implementing the conspiracy they have agreed to abroad against Syria."