Zee Beam News

02.06.2005 10:42 MSK MosNews - Russian authorities can destroy any business just like they are currently destroying Yukos, the oil company's CEO Steven Theede said on Wednesday, June 1, speaking at a conference dedicated to investment in the Russian fuel and energy complex which is taking place in Paris. "I can very well understand why highly esteemed oil companies are still looking to Russia with interest and enthusiasm, but I want to warn them - if something like this happened to Yukos, it can happen at any time with any other company," the Interfax news agency quoted the Yukos executive as saying. Theede also addressed the Russian authorities with a plea to stop the attack on Yukos. "We here, at Yukos, simply want to produce oil, like a stable and effective company. A decision on whether or not to preserve Yukos can be made only by the Russian authorities. I admit that all of their actions over the last 19 months give us very little hope for our future, but it is still not too late to change the course and let the company and its shareholders work toward long-term success," Theede said. The Yukos CEO also informed the conference's participants that in an attempt to shield itself from the Russian authorities, the oil company filed two suits - one to the European Court of Human Rights and the other one to the Moscow Arbitration Court.