Top Turkish diplomat, Libyan counterpart discuss ties

By Behlul Cetinkaya

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish foreign minister held a phone talk with his Libyan counterpart on Tuesday, a diplomatic source said.

Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mohamed Taher Siala discussed bilateral relations, the latest situation after a cease-fire in Libya, and the UN initiative to find a solution to the Libyan crisis.

In October last year, the UN announced a permanent cease-fire agreement between Libya's warring rivals during its facilitated 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva.

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Based in the capital Tripoli and currently led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, the Government of National Accord was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement. But efforts for a long-term political settlement have failed due to a military offensive by militias loyal to Haftar.

Al-Sarraj's government has been battling Haftar's militias since April 2019 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.​​​​​​​