Germany's Merkel urges U.N.-backed Libya talks in phone call with Egypt's Sisi

Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation in conflict-wracked Libya with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the German government said in a statement on Monday.

Merkel told Sisi that United Nations-backed negotiations must remain the key aim of a peace process in Libya, where the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is fighting General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army in the east.

On Saturday, Sisi proposed a new ceasefire after the Turkish-backed GNA won a series of rapid victories over Haftar's forces, dashing Haftar's bid to unite the country by force with help from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia.