Putin sees Russia's Aeroflot resuming talks on buying Alitalia stake

"The option proposed by Mr. Berlusconi is acceptable enough for us to resume contacts," he said. "Today I talked to the chairman of Aeroflot's board of directors.
They're ready to resume contacts with Italian partners. We don't know, of course, what this will result in."

Putin's comments are at odds with a statement made earlier on Friday by Aeroflot CEO Valery Okulov, who said the airline was unlikely to bid for Alitalia.

Berlusconi said at the conference that the Italian government also believed Aeroflot could resume talks on buying a stake in Alitalia.

Aeroflot pulled out of a tender for the Italian government's 49.9% stake in Alitalia last year.

Berlusconi also said that the Italian government was still considering a deal with Air France-KLM, which ceased talks on buying a stake in Alitalia earlier this year.
He added the government would prefer a deal with an international consortium.