CAIRO, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday discussed the recent developments in war-torn Libya via a phone call, according to the Egyptian presidency.
Both leaders stressed the importance of intensifying joint efforts to settle the Libyan crisis, combating armed militias and terrorist organizations, and putting an end to illegal foreign interference in the Libyan issue, Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said in a statement.
The spokesman added that Sisi highlighted Egypt's aspiration to deepen the Egyptian-Russian relations in all fields, praising the development projects under implementation by the two countries in Egypt, including the construction of the Dabaa nuclear power plant and the Russian industrial zone at the Suez Canal axis.
Libya has been locked in a civil war that escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital Tripoli and another in the northeastern city of Tobruk which is allied with the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar.
Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France and Russia support Haftar's LNA, while the GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar.
At least 1,000 people, including around 100 civilians, have so far been killed in the conflict, and 120,000 others displaced, according to the World Health Organization.
Sisi's discussions with Putin came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday that Turkey will send troops to Libya at the request of the UN-backed Libyan government as soon as next month.
Egypt is concerned about its 1,200-km western border with Libya where militants and the smuggling of arms have been active since 2011.
On Dec. 11, al-Sisi announced that a comprehensive solution in Libya will take place in the coming months.
