German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Thursday, a German government spokesman said in a statement, urging him to move quickly towards signing a cease-fire.
The phone call came days after eastern-based putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, military commander of the faction opposing al-Sarraj's U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, visited Merkel for talks in Berlin.
"They discussed the current political and military situation," the statement read. "The chancellor stressed, as she had on Tuesday in her conversation with Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the importance of signing the cease-fire that was recently agreed in Geneva by representatives of the conflict parties."
Merkel hosted a summit in January for all countries with an interest in Libya's long-running conflict. The countries agreed to respect a much-violated U.N. arms embargo, hold off on military support to Libya's warring parties and push them to reach a full cease-fire. Yet violations of the arms embargo have persisted.
Last month, delegations from the two main rival sides in Libya's conflict attended peace talks in Geneva, but key representatives suspended their involvement.
Libya’s legitimate government also called on the U.K. to support it against terrorist groups and illegitimate forces in order to put an end to the conflict in the country.
Speaking at the British parliament on Thursday, Fathi Bashaga, a spokesman for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), made the call in his address to British lawmakers.
Since the ousting of late ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya, supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, which enjoys U.N. and international recognition.
The GNA has been under attack by Haftar's forces since last April, with more than 1,000 lives lost in the violence and more than 300,000 civilians displaced.
On Jan. 12, parties in Libya announced a cease-fire, followed by the Berlin conference on Jan. 19, in response to a joint call by the leaders of Turkey and Russia. But two days later in Russia, talks for a permanent cease-fire stagnated after Haftar stormed out of Moscow without a deal.