
Egyptian Foreign Minister meeting with his Libyan counterpart Mohamed Al-Dairi in Washington over crisis in Libya Friday Feb. 20, 2014 (Photo: Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry met on Friday his Libyan counterpart Mohammed Al-Dairi in Washington DC, as well as a number of western officials to discuss fighting Islamist militants in neighbouring Libya, according to statements from Egypt's foreign ministry.
Shoukry has been in Washington since last Thursday to attend an international anti-terrorism conference, and consult with foreign diplomats on regional matters.
The Egyptian FM met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and national security advisor to the American president Susan Rice late Thursday. He discussed with both high-profile diplomats the importance of immediate action from the international community to help Libya emerge from turmoil.
Egypt conducted airstrikes in the eastern Libyan city of Derna in coordination with the internationally recognised Libyan government hours after the Islamic State group released a gruesome video of the beheading of Christian Egyptians who travelled there seeking work before they were kidnapped in December and January.
Shoukry also discussed means of cooperation between US and Egypt in anti-terrorism related topics and other bilateral relations, spokesperson to the ministry Badr Abdel Ati said in the statement.
The Egyptian minister also met with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to highlight the importance of intervention from the Security Council in Libya.
Egypt on Monday bombed Islamic State group weapons caches and training camps to avenge "the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers," the military said.
But Washington still stressed the need for a UN-led political solution as the best way out of the crisis in Libya, where rival governments and militia groups battle for control and the country's vast oil riches.
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