[Quote of the Week] “Our American partners have a very original culture when dealing with counterparties.”

“The last-minute refusal to complete the Opel deal is not harmful to our interests, but it shows that our American partners have a very original culture when dealing with counterparties,” commented Prime Minister Putin on GM’s decision on Wednesday to back away from selling it stake in Opel and Vauxhall to Sberbank and Canada’s Magna.

“We will have to take into account this style of dealing with partners in the future, though this scornful approach toward partners mainly affects the Europeans, not us. GM did not warn anyone, did not speak to anyone … despite all the agreements reached and documents signed. Well, I think it is a good lesson.”

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