CAIRO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi received on Thursday a phone call from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during which they discussed regional issues, with a focus on the Libyan crisis.
Sisi expressed Egypt's opposition to "illegitimate foreign intervention" in Libyan domestic affairs, citing that they would further exacerbate the security conditions in Libya in a way that affects the stability of the entire region, said Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady in a statement.
For his part, the Greek prime minister also voiced rejection of foreign interference in Libya, while highlighting the political course as a key solution for the Libyan issue.
He hailed Egypt's "sincere efforts" that seek a peaceful settlement to the Libyan crisis, according to the statement.
Over the past few years, the Egyptian-Greek ties have been growing closer with a similar position on Turkey, which supports the UN-backed Libyan government in its rivalry with the eastern-based army led by Khalifa Haftar who was supported by Egypt.
The talks between Sisi and Mitsotakis came a couple of days after the Egyptian parliament approved possible troop deployment in Libya to defend Egypt's western borders with the war-torn country.
Sisi vowed last week that his country would not stand idle in the face of any direct threats to the national security of Egypt and Libya.
Libya has been suffering a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The situation escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments with warring forces: the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital Tripoli and another in the northeastern city of Tobruk allied with the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Haftar.
Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia support the LNA, while the GNA is mainly backed by Turkey and Qatar. Enditem
