Germany, Egypt leaders discuss Libya developments over phone

   CAIRO, Jan. 12 -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call from German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday evening where they discussed the recent developments in war-torn Libya, said the Egyptian presidency.
   Merkel updated Sisi with the recent German efforts attempting to reach a political solution in Libya, said Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady in a statement.
   "They exchanged views on the latest developments in the Libyan arena and their consequences on Libya and the region," Rady added.
   The Egyptian and German leaders agreed that any political solution in Libya should comprehensively deal with the political, economic, security and military aspects of the issue and stop the illegitimate foreign interventions in the Libyan domestic affairs, according to the statement.
   Also on Sunday, Merkel held a similar phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who met in Istanbul earlier in the day with Fayez al-Serraj, head of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA).
   Libya has been engaged in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
   The Libyan conflict escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed, Tripoli-based GNA and a Tobruk-based government allied with self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar who seeks to take over Tripoli. 
   Both the GNA and the LNA accepted the cease-fire called for by the Turkish and Russian presidents on Wednesday and started on Sunday. 
   Turkey supports the GNA and the Turkish parliament approved in early January a motion to deploy Turkish troops in Libya, a move that was strongly rejected by Egypt that backs Hafatr's LNA. 
   The Egyptian foreign ministry welcomed in a statement on Sunday the cease-fire deal between the two Libyan main rivals, reiterating support for a comprehensive political solution for the Libyan crisis.  Xinhau