Italy's foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday called for an immediate humanitarian truce in war-wracked Libya, saying the plight of civilians made this "a priority and a necessity".
"An immediate ceasefire is important," Moavero and Le Drian said in a joint statement after they met on the sidelines of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.
"United Nations facilitated dialogue must re-start to allow Libyan citizens to determine their own future through democratic elections. " the statement went on.
A "humanitarian truce" to help the civilian population "is a priority and a necessity," the statement said.
In an earlier tweet, Moavero and Le Drian said "a broad consensus" existed between France and Italy on the crises in Libya and Venezuela, which together with the Sahel were the focus of Monday's Foreign Affairs Council meeting.
France and Italy both have oil interests in Libya and have been at the forefront of diplomatic efforts towards a ceasefire and fresh UN-mediated talks to end the conflict, although France's good relations with eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar has caused tensions with Italy.
There are fears the fighting between Haftars' militia and forces loyal to the internationally recognised government in Tripoli could tip Libya into another all-out civil war like the Nato-backed conflict that ousted late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The warfare in Tripoli has killed at least 454 people, injured at least 2,154 and displaced some 60,000 since Haftar began an assault on the capital on 5 April, the UN said last week.
Libya was an Italian colony from 1911-1947.
