Munich security conference hopes for Putin's attendance

The Munich Security Conference 2016 has sent invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin and hoping for his attendance, its organiser said.

"Putin's personal explanations on the reasons for Russia's policy in Syria, also in Ukraine, would be particularly interesting," Xinhua cited conference chief Wolfgang Ischinger as saying on Tuesday.

The Munich Security Conference, an annual informal meeting on international security policy, will be held from February 12 to 14 this year in the southern German city of Munich.

The conference, Ischinger said, has gained a reputation for maximum independence since its formation in the 1960s, and provides a forum for guests to discuss solutions to the current crises and conflicts on an informal occasion.

Putin took part in the Munich Security Conference for the first time in 2007. As for this year's invitation, the conference has not yet received an official answer from him.

In addition, Sahra Wagenknecht, parliamentary group leader of Germany's main opposition party Die Linke, called on Tuesday for a return of Russia in the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialised nations.

Russia was booted out of G8 in 2014 over the crisis in Ukraine.

"It was, from the outset, a mistake to exclude Russia," Wagenknecht said.

"We see in Syria that there are no political solutions without Russia. The more Russia is excluded, the greater the risk that conflicts would escalate," she added.