Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told executives Monday that the rescue of German carmaker Opel by Canada’s Magna and Russian state-owned bank Sberbank must help the Russian car industry.
“The Russian government has its strategy of developing the car industry and the deal we are discussing must be embedded within the strategy for automobile manufacturing,” Putin was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
The strongman prime minister made the comments at a meeting with Sberbank head German Gref and Magna co-chief executive Siegfried Wolf.
The Russian banking giant Sberbank and the Canadian auto-parts maker Magna clinched a deal over the weekend after marathon talks to save Opel as its parent company, US auto giant General Motors, prepared to declare bankruptcy.
GM filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States on Monday.
Under the deal, Sberbank acquires a 35 percent stake in Opel and Magna gains a 20 percent stake, while GM keeps 35 percent of the company and Opel’s workers retain 10 percent.
The deal is expected to preserve thousands of workers’ jobs in Germany and elsewhere, but it has raised fears of growing Russian state control over European industry.
Putin said the Russian government did not play a direct role in the deal to rescue Opel but that it “welcomed the role of Sberbank in this sphere,” Interfax reported
