Well all the papers this morning are about the new cold war stand-off between American and Russia over its missile defence system, with Putin retaliating that he might position Russian nuclear weapons towards Europe.
Well nuclear missiles are not the only standoff Putin is involved in at the moment. He also cranked up the tension yesterday […]

There is no sign of BP’s troubles stopping. Moscow has now ratcheted up the pressure on BP’s Russian venture, warning that TNK-BP could see the licence for its vast Kovykta gas field revoked within “a matter of days”.
Oleg Mitvol, head of Russia’s environmental watchdog, said his agency would open a probe tomorrow into whether TNK-BP […]

BP conceded defeat in the auction yesterday of a $7.6 billion stake in Rosneft that had been held by the bankrupt company Yukos.
This allowed the state oil company to buy its own stock at a 10 per cent discount to the market value.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in Moscow today, offering trade deal in return for Russian oil and gas. Hu’s three-day state visit to Russia will be his third as president, showing how seriously Beijing is courting President Putin.
“At present, Chinese-Russian relations are developing vigorously and have reached unprecedented levels,” Hu said. He is expected to […]

BP could be sued for receiving stolen property if it buys the $9 billion stake in Rosneft that will be auctioned by the Kremlin tomorrow.
The 9.44 per cent stake in Rosneft is one of a number of assets that belongs to Yukos, the former Russian oil giant, being sold by the Russian authorities.