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"Commenting on today&amp;#39;s announcements on the possible future of rights to Stolichnaya vodka, Paul Clinton, Chief Executive Officer of Guinness UDV in North America said: &amp;quot;Stolichnaya has been an integral part of the UDV brand portfolio since the early 1990&amp;#39;s. During this period, we have substantially increased brand volume, reversing years of decline.&amp;quot;These significant strides have been attained in spite of a number of troubling and serious uncertainties surrounding this brand. Even now, ownership of the Stolichnaya trademark in Russia is a matter of substantial doubt. In recent weeks, the Russian government itself has challenged ownership of the brand,&amp;quot; he said.Clinton continued: &amp;quot;Equally troubling from a strategic business perspective is the escalating concern over a consistent supply of Stolichnaya. These supply uncertainties derive from Russian domestic disputes concerning ownership of the distilleries where the product is made.&amp;quot;UDV has developed an impressive Stolichnaya business, but existing trademark ownership and supply questions have served to strengthen our long-held conviction that UDV&amp;#39;s primary focus should always be squarely centred on its global priority brands.&amp;quot;He concluded: &amp;quot;As circumstances unfold, UDV will, however, maintain a vigilant and active interest in Stolichnaya since the trademark and supply issues may well ultimately be resolved in a manner that preserves the status quo.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.just-drinks.com/news/diageo-responds-to-allieds-stoli-rights-win_id75705.aspx>