After receiving authorization and assistance from Gorbachev, Seryosha flew to London on a Soviet civil aviation flight with a secret mission to participate in the ongoing negotiations on the Soviet-British gas agreement.
Before that, Karim had already set out from Zurich in advance and rushed to London to assist Seryosha in this operation.
Karim's gallery business has been running very well in the UK in recent years, so he has met many celebrities in the political and business circles of high society.
Seryosha doesn't have any connections in the UK, and he needs Karim to create connections for him to talk to the cabinet.
Seryosha knew very well that simply doing a good job in the coal export business would not make Gorbachev look at him differently, and that facilitating Gorbachev's visit to London and persuading Britain to actually abandon the sanctions and embargo against the Soviet Union was the ultimate goal.
Although Seryosha had made a promise to Gorbachev, and this was theoretically possible, Seryosha did not think about how to operate it.
Although Seryosha came to the UK as a gas negotiator, he did not stay in the same hotel as the entire negotiating team, because there must have been Americans watching over there, which was not conducive to Seryosha's actions.
When Seryosha first arrived in London, he decided not to rush for a while, anyway, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the contradictions between the coal miners' union and the Thatcher cabinet were irreconcilable, and unless a miracle happened, a nationwide coal miners' strike was inevitable.
The longer it dragged on, the better it would be for Seryosha.
Seryosha thinks that it is better to adopt the strategy of business first and then government, and now he has attracted a number of enterprises seriously affected by the rise in coal prices as a breakthrough, such as the power industry and the steel industry.
Over the next week, Seryosha began to participate in business and social events under Karim's leadership, which were only temporary and did not reveal his Soviet identity, which had not been very popular in Britain since the Iron Curtain speech.
However, Seryosha has not yet entered the social circle of the British business community after all, and Karim is a woman, so she can only talk about art and other topics with those noblewomen at the party, so it is not very effective, but Seryosha still has gains, at least he has received more and more invitations.
At a banquet hosted by the British Bankers' Association, Seryosha met a guy who had done him a great favor.
"Mr.
Ulyanov, it's a pleasure to see you again, when did you come to England" A voice suddenly came from behind Seryosha, causing Seryosha to almost choke on wine, he didn't know anyone here, how could anyone call his name Thinking of this, Seryosha quickly turned around, and Karim, who was chatting with several British ladies on the side, noticed the situation on Seryosha's side and hurriedly walked over.
"Hello you" Seryosha pretended to turn around and saw a man about his age standing behind him enthusiastically, he saw Seryosha turn around, and hurriedly raised the wine glass in his hand, Seryosha and he gently touched the wine glass, and then wanted to ask the other party's identity with some embarrassment.
This is simply rude, but Seryosha really can't remember when he met each other.
"Hey James, I really didn't expect to see you here, didn't you go skiing in Switzerland" Karim grabbed the other party's hand first, then let go, and introduced to Seryosha: "This is Baron James, a member of the Rothschild family who helped us buy the Canadian Agricultural Company in the United States" Fortunately, Karim came in time enough, so Seryosha was not so embarrassed to ask the other party's identity, he quickly held the other party's hand to hide the embarrassment and said: "James, I really haven't seen you for a few days, and your complexion is really good."
"You look good, Mr.
Ulyanov, are you coming to England for business or vacation?"
asked James casually.
"It's a bit of both, but my business is mainly in the US, and it's my first time in the UK."
Seryosha replied.
"Then you must come to our family castle to be a guest and give us a chance to entertain you, of course, if you have any good business, don't forget to take care of our Rothschild Bank, we are looking forward to working with you again, are you here to buy any company in the UK this time," James greeted warmly.
"Actually, I want to pay attention to the British coal market, I have a lot of raw coal in my hands, and I want to find a few powerful long-term customers here," Seryosha replied truthfully, and as soon as this sentence was spoken, the two gentlemen who had been talking warmly with others on his left and right suddenly turned around and joined the conversation between them.
"James, won't you introduce me to this gentleman," said a pot-bellied old gentleman, turning to Seryosha and holding out his hand.
"Mr.
Ulyanov, this is Mr.
Atkins from Barclays" "Hello, I'm Belford from the Royal Bank of Scotland," another old gentleman with very little hair introduced himself "Nice to meet you," Seryosha hastened to shake hands with them as a gesture of friendship.
"Let's continue with the topic, I just heard that you have raw coal in your hands and want to make a move, right?"
asked Belford in a low voice.
"Yes, I have a lot of coal on hand and I want to find a long-term buyer," Seryosha stressed.
"To tell you the truth, I'm also interested in the coal in your hands, and one of the steel companies we have granted credit to is already in a recession, and now the government is doing this, and the financial statements are simply unreadable," said Mr.
Atkins with a sad expression.
"We are the main correspondent bank of the British National Power Company, and if you have enough supplies, we want to be able to sign a long-term supply contract at a good price, and I only have one request, and that is not to cut off the supply," Belford also secured for the credit of his bank.
Although the coal supply problem mainly affects industrial and power companies, the banks behind these companies will also be hit hard if their credit recipients are in trouble, and it is likely that it will be difficult to recover the loans.
"But to be honest, this gentleman, this is the first time we have met, I don't know if you have enough raw coal to supply the two of us, we are both large enterprises, if the supply is cut off, the loss is immeasurable," Atkins asked a little uneasy.
"Don't worry, I think James knows me, and I'm looking forward to working with your two bank-backed businesses.
My coal ship will arrive in Manchester tomorrow, and several more ships are on their way, so if the two gentlemen are interested, go to the harbor and take a look," Seryosha said confidently.
"James, who is that guy" A caring person heard the conversation here, pulled James aside and asked in a low voice.
"I don't know, but I think it's a senior partner at Glencore," James replied uncertainly. t1706231537: