(Reuters) - Italy’s government and UniCredit have called off negotiations over the sale of ailing Banca Monte dei Paschi(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. Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans