Oct 24 (Reuters) - Italy"s government and UniCredit(CRDI.MI) have called off negotiations over the sale of ailing Banca Monte dei Paschi (BMPS.MI)(MPS), the Italian lender and Italy"s Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a joint statement on Sunday. "Despite the effort from both sides, negotiations pertaining to the potential acquisition of a defined perimeter of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena will no longer continue," the statement said.