Mr. Putin said, "It surprises me when I read the Texas court's ruling where the judge says: 'Why can't Russia postpone the Yuganskneftegaz auction?' I am not sure, by the way, that she [the judge] knows where Russia is." Mr. Putin was answering a question from a BBC Russian Service reporter at today's press conference in the Kremlin.
In this regard, Mr. Putin said a well-known Latin expression: "There is no first among equals."
"From the international legal point of view," he said, "this absolutely contradicts international politeness. And this is not a moral but legal category in the international private law."
He said, "We believe that international relations must rest on the basis of equality with the observance of the sovereignty of all states, participating in international contacts. I repeat again: this approach is shared practically by all members of the international community."
Mr. Putin reiterated that the Yuganskneftegaz auction followed all the norms of international and Russian law.
"In regards to that deal," he said, "it was carried out in a strict accordance with Russian legislation and in observance of all the norms of the international law and the international commitments of the Russian Federation within the framework of those documents which we signed with our colleagues in the international arena.
"Therefore, I do not see any problems here."
