On Sunday, the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Al-Sarraj, received a phone call from the French ambassador to Libya, Beatrice Le Fraper du Hellen.
During the call, the French ambassador conveyed the greetings of French President Emmanuel Macron and reiterated her country’s support for the peace initiative put forward by the GNA Prime Minister on August 21st.
The French ambassador also conveyed the French President’s invitation for Al-Sarraj to visit Paris as soon as possible.
Al-Sarraj accepted the invitation, stressing that what he proposed in his statement regarding a ceasefire, including progress towards elections and the resumption of oil production and export, must be implemented with the help of all supporters.
The phone call dealt with the most recent developments in Libya and the bilateral relations between the two countries.
The GNA, which is based in the west of the country, announced on Friday morning a ceasefire across Libya. It also called for the demilitarisation of the contested strategic cities of Sirte and Al-Jufrah, which are controlled by the Libyan National Army.
Earlier, Macron called for the need to enforce the arms embargo imposed on Libya, saying in a tweet: “The European IRINI mission, in order to enforce the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on Libya, must be strengthened.”
Macron previously spoke with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on August 14, about the situation in the eastern Mediterranean, Libya, and Lebanon, pointing to the convergence of their views on these issues. “Our views converge. Our interest in peace and security is common there, we will enforce it,” the French President wrote in a tweet.