ROME, January 17. /TASS/. Italy believes it is necessary to evaluate the conditions to go over from the Group of Seven (G7) to the Group of Eight (G8) format involving Russia, Italian Foreign Minister, Angelino Alfano, said on Tuesday.

"Since we discuss the most delicate international crises with Russia, we need to evaluate the conditions for returning to the G8 format, even if this is not yet possible by the next summit in Taormina (scheduled for late May - TASS)," the minister said at a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committees at the lower and upper houses of national parliament.

Italy assumed G7 presidency on January 1. Its senior officials earlier pointed to the need to stabilize relations with Russia. Moscow suspended its participation in the summits of the heads of state and government of the world’s major industrialized countries (the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the UK) due to tensions in relations with the West over the Ukrainian crisis and Crimea’s incorporation into Russia.