FILE PHOTO: Rolls of steel are seen at the ILVA steel plant in Taranto, southern Italy, September 21, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government will summon representatives of ArcelorMittal MT.AS for a meeting following the group's decision to pull out of a contract to take over struggling Italian steel maker Ilva, a government source said on Monday.

“The government will not give its consent to closing Ilva. There is no legal basis for the contract to be canceled. We will summon Mittal to Rome immediately,” the source said, following a meeting of ministers involved in handling the case.