Egypt's Sisi receives Libyan warlord Haftar, house speaker in Cairo

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar and Libyan House of Representatives speaker Aguila Saleh in Cairo on Tuesday.

Alongside Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, Al-Sisi received Saleh and Haftar in Cairo, Anadolu Agency reported a statement by the Egyptian presidency as saying.

In the meeting, Al-Sisi affirmed Egypt will continue to "coordinate with all Libyan brothers during the coming period" to ensure the "unity and cohesion of Libyan national institutions", according to Egypt's official Middle East News Agency.

The Egyptian president also highlighted the importance of the upcoming Libyan elections and said foreign interference should be prevented.

According to the Egyptian statement, Salah and Haftar also affirmed "the consistency of their positions with the Egyptian perspective on managing the Libyan transitional phase".

A transitional government and presidential council were elected in Libya in March to lead the country into their parliamentary and presidential elections on 24 December.

But Haftar, who controls most of eastern Libya, has so far resisted efforts to place his forces under the authority of the UN-backed Government of National Unity, as stipulated in the October 2020 peace agreement signed by rival Libyan factions.

Relations between the two countries have improved after Egypt expressed support for Libya's new government and Egyptian Prime Minister, Mustafa Madbouly, visited Tripoli last April.