Israeli Orange franchisee Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) has snubbed the apology of Orange CEO Stephane Richard and insists that he is anyway refusing to talk directly with the company.
Partner said, "His recent declarations are no more than a smoke screen to mislead public opinion in Israel and abroad. His harmful comments, his apology and its vague and evasive formulation continue to cause huge damage to the Orange brand in Israel and hurt the country's citizens.'
Partner stressed that it "had not received any official notification from France telecom to date. We demand a direct dialogue with Orange CEO Stephane Richard who until today has avoided talking directly with Partner - puzzling behavior in our eyes."
Partner's comments come after last week's ostensible u-turn by Richard. On Wednesday he said in Cairo that he wants to break off contacts with Israel but on Thursday he told AFP, "We are in Israel and plan to stay there." He denied plans to leave Israel and expressed "deep regret" over the interpretation of his comments in Cairo. He insisted that he did not support a boycott of Israel or any other country.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 7, 2015
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