MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin slammed US auto giant GM on Thursday over its decision to cancel the sale of Opel to a Canadian-Russian consortium, saying Moscow would draw a "lesson" from the move.

"The last-minute withdrawal from the completion of this deal does not harm our interests, but to put it mildly, it reflects our American partners' peculiar way of dealing with their counterparts," Putin said.

"This is a lesson, and we will need to take this approach to dealing with partners into account in the future," Putin said, speaking at a meeting with government ministers.

GM had given its preliminary agreement in September to a deal under which it would have sold a 55-percent stake in Opel, its European unit, to a consortium uniting Russian state-owned bank Sberbank and Canadian auto parts maker Magna International.

But earlier this week GM announced it was no longer planning to sell Opel, citing an improved business environment.

"GM did not warn anybody, did not discuss anything with anybody, but simply presented everyone with this fact, despite all the earlier agreements that had been reached and documents signed, some of a legal nature," Putin said.

The deal had been touted by Russian officials as a way to boost Russia's economic integration with Europe and to bring Western expertise to the struggling Russian auto industry.

There had also been speculation that the deal could have led to the transfer of technology to GAZ, Russia's second-largest car manufacturer.

GM's reversal sparked outrage in Germany, where it is feared that thousands of Opel workers will lose their jobs and where the move has been seen as a slap in the face to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Criticism has also been directed at US President Barack Obama, since the US government owns a 60 percent stake in GM as part of a reorganisation plan established when the carmaker filed for bankruptcy protection in June.

But the White House said it had nothing to do with GM's decision, saying it was not involved in the carmaker's day-to-day business operations.