KLM (NYSE:KLM - news) said on Tuesday the Italian government had made an informal approach about reviving the Dutch airline's alliance with Italian flag carrier Alitalia , but KLM had refused to restart talks. ``There was an informal signal from the Italian government towards KLM if there would be any possibility to restart discussions regarding cooperation,'' KLM Royal Dutch Airlines spokesman Bart Koster told Reuters.

``KLM has indicated very strictly that under the current circumstances there is no way we would restart negotiating or talking with Alitalia,'' he added.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010213/aat001040.html

When questioned Tuesday, spokesman Andrea Giannoni had no comment on the latest report.

KLM said it will continue to look for the best alliance partner and stressed that it's not in exclusive talks. The company has said it needs a partner to survive in the competitive airline industry.
http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/010213/klm_alital.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-13-2001).]