"This is all about money." Asked whether BP had mishandled the escalating dispute, he said: "There isn't that much they could do about it."
FSB
Chief executive grilled in Russian siege of BP
As TNK-BP director Jean-Luc Vermeulen quits, spy allegations fly in Moscow
The Kremlins campaign against foreign ownership of Russian energy resources forced Shell to cede control of the $20 billion (£10 billion) Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project to Gazprom last year. As the only big energy company not under Russian control, TNK-BP is firmly in its sights.