Qatar Airways back in talks on Italian airline stake purchase

Italy’s govt has resumed talks with Qatar Airways over possibly selling a stake in Meridiana airline to the Arabian Gulf carrier, but the talks are fraught with difficulty, Italy’s transport minister said Wednesday. Qatar Airways said earlier in June it had reached an impasse in negotiations to buy 49% of the Italian airline, due to disagreements over working conditions. "We have resumed contact with Qatar Airways but there are lots of problems," the transport minister Graziano Delrio said on the side-lines of a parliamentary hearing in Rome. Delrio was speaking the day before a deadline that has been set for the Italian govt, the Qatari airline and Meridiana to agree on the terms of the deal. <br/>