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Western powers call for Libya ceasefire, back unity government


    ROME (Reuters) - Western powers called for a ceasefire in Libya on Sunday to pave the way for an agreement to form a national unity government, which U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the majority of factions were ready to sign.

    Most representatives of the two rival governments currently in power in Libya "have come together and are ready to sign an agreement, and they refuse to be blocked by one or two people or individual politics," Kerry told reporters.

    Seventeen countries met in Rome to give a final push to a year of U.N.-led negotiations for the formation of a unity government in Libya, promising political, economic and security backing, according to a statement.

    (Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Jon Boyle)