Military staff walk past a G8 logo outside the media centre near L'Aquila July 7, 2009. G8 and other leaders arrive for the annual G8 summit on July 8. REUTERS/Mal Langsdon

BERLIN (Reuters) - There is no reason to speculate about a return to the Group of Eight (G8) meetings that included Russia, a spokesman for the German government said on Friday.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said on Tuesday that Russia was an important international partner and world leaders should consider inviting it back to the annual summit of major industrialized nations.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni had not discussed the issue during their meeting in Berlin on Wednesday, adding: “So for the German government there are currently no indications or any reason to start speculating about that.”