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Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister. (AP) MOSCOW, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted the battle for carmaker Opel was not over, saying it was the trust overseeing Opel, not the board of General Motors, its parent, that should decide any further steps.

General Motors opted on Tuesday to keep its European arm Opel after months of painstaking negotiations to sell it to a Canadian-Russian consortium of Magna and Sberbank.

The Russian government and the Kremlin have repeatedly said the sale of Opel to a Russian-backed group would show the readiness of U.S. President Barack Obama to boost economic ties with Russia and reset political relations with Moscow.

"It is well known that GM has earlier transferred the management of its European division to a trust, which has cleared the deal, and all further steps should be de facto decided by the trust," spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted Putin as saying.

"Therefore the GM board decision is surprising," he said adding that Magna and Sberbank would make a legal analysis of the situation.

"The Russian government had been ready to share risks including financial risks to reduce pressure on the German government and encourage the deal because the consortium planned to invest in the Russian car industry," he added.