Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc, Europe's second-largest oil company, resumed talks with its Russian billionaire partners to resolve disputes over control and operations of their joint venture TNK-BP.

``We've always believed that disagreements between the shareholders of TNK-BP will be eventually settled by negotiations,'' David Nicholas, a London-based spokesman at BP, said today by phone. ``It's a complex situation and may take some time'' to resolve, he cited Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward as saying.

TNK-BP's Robert Dudley may step down as chief executive and billionaire shareholders German Khan and Viktor Vekselberg may give up their management roles under a possible deal to resolve the dispute, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people on both sides in the talks.

``Nothing has been agreed,'' Stan Polovets, who represents the Russian shareholders in TNK-BP, said when asked about a meeting between Hayward and billionaire Mikhail Fridman in Prague on July 30. ``The meeting was a first step but there are many difficult issues that need to be resolved.''

The dispute has intensified as the British and Russian owners accuse each other of trying to trying to wrest control of the venture and subvert their 2003 shareholders agreement. Hayward said a day before his talks with Fridman that the U.K. company will ``vigorously defend'' its rights in TNK-BP.

Strategy Dispute

``We continue to support Bob Dudley'' as TNK-BP CEO, BP's Nicholas said, declining to comment further on the report or provide details on the outcome of the meeting. TNK-BP spokesman Peter Henshaw also declined to comment.

BP and a group of companies controlled by the Russian shareholders have been sparring over management and strategy at TNK-BP since last year. The billionaires have demanded Dudley's resignation and the election of independent directors to the venture's 10-member board. They also accuse BP of treating the 50-50 venture like a subsidiary and ignoring their interests, which BP denies.

BP asked Vekselberg and Khan to step down from their executive posts at a July 11 board meeting, according to AAR, the company represents the billionaires.

To contact the reporters on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in Madrid at egismatullin@bloomberg.net; Torrey Clark in Moscow at tclark8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 1, 2008 13:03 EDT