French, US Top Diplomats Discuss Notre Dame Fire, Situation In Tropoli - Paris

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2019) French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo discussed a huge fire in the Notre Dame catherdral in Paris and the security situation in Tripoli amid the escalation of tensions in the Libyan capital in their recent telephone talks, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, tonight held a telephone conversation with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo. The state secretary, on his behalf and on behalf of his country, expressed solidarity in relation to the fire which affected the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral ... The minister and his counterpart also addressed the situation in Tripoli. The two ministers expressed the shared opinion about the need for the soon ceasefire and the immediate resumption of the UN-supervised political process," the statement read.

The massive fire broke out at the medieval cathedral in the evening on Monday and was extinguished by Tuesday morning. It drew international attention with officials and public figures from across the world expressing solidarity with France and offering their support in the restoration of Notre Dame, whose roof and spire collapsed.

The situation in Tripoli has aggravated over the past two weeks since the Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and supporting the parliament governing the east of the country, engaged in an offensive to recapture the capital from the rival UN-backed Government of National Accord. The international community has called on the sides to cease fire and return to the political settlement of their conflict.