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Pompeo, in Call with Egypt's Shoukry, Urges Political Solution in Libya


FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talks to the media after his meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri at the State Department in Washington, Aug. 15, 2019.
FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talks to the media after his meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri at the State Department in Washington, Aug. 15, 2019.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday expressed American concerns over the prolonged conflict in Libya in a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart, and they agreed on the need for a political solution, the State Department said.

Pompeo also discussed with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry cooperation to tackle the Islamic State and al-Qaida militant groups, the department said in a statement.

"The Secretary and the Foreign Minister shared concern over prolonged violence and instability in Libya, and agreed on the need to achieve a political solution to the conflict," it said.

Egypt's foreign ministry said the two also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as crises in Syria and Yemen. On the Palestinian crisis, Shoukry "stressed the need to reach a comprehensive solution."

Egypt, along with the United Arab Emirates, is a supporter of Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, whose Libya National Army (LNA) has been trying to take Tripoli from forces allied with the internationally recognized government.

Turkey recently shipped arms to Tripoli to stop Haftar's assault, according to diplomats.

The United Nations envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, last month called for a truce in the North African country and warned that an influx of weapons from foreign supporters, in violation of an arms embargo, was fueling the conflict.

The country has been riven by violence since the fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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