ROME (Sputnik) — The agenda for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, to be held on the Italian island of Sicily in May, will include relations with Russia, with whom Italy is looking to develop dialogue, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday.
"Our meeting is of particular importance, since it takes place two months before the G7 summit in Taormina, we in a sense inherit Japan's chairmanship of the G7. Therefore, we first of all discussed the issues related to the agenda of the G7 and the continuation of the brilliant work done by Japan. The agenda of the summit includes important international issues, including, of course, relations with Russia. We are striving to take steps toward openness and dialogue," Gentiloni said after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Italian capital.
According to the Italian prime minister, the G7 meeting will likely "give a clear signal about the need to preserve international trade against any attempts at protectionist restrictions."
Earlier on Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said that Rome is hopeful that Moscow will return to the G8 format next year, which would depend on the implementation of Minsk accords.
The G7 was joined by Russia in 1998. Moscow's accession to the group of major economies turned the G7 into the Group of Eight.
In 2014, the G8 members refused to come to the Russian southwestern city of Sochi, venue of the G8 regular summit, citing disagreements over the Ukrainian crisis, and have been meeting in the seven-state format since then.
