Lord Owen brought in on Yukos crisis

FORMER Balkans peace negotiator Lord Owen has been parachuted in to advise the board of crippled oil giant Yukos in its stand-off with the Russian government.

Owen is helping the company's main board in Moscow as it battles to stave off bankruptcy after failing to pay $3.4bn (£1.8bn) in back taxes.

The founder of the SDP Party has been chairman of Yukos' international arm in London for two years but is now 'offering counsel' in Russia, the group said.

He told The Guardian the affair, which has sent US oil back above $40 a barrel, 'could go either way'.

Owen refused to be drawn on whether he had raised Yukos' concerns with President Vladimir Putin. 'I just don't want to say. It's better to rely on private discussions,' he said.

Putin has insisted he does not want Yukos to collapse and is believed to have defended his conduct over the affair to visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder yesterday.

The deadline for paying the initial $3.4bn bill passed on Wednesday.

Former Yukos chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky, currently being tried for fraud and tax evasion, is thought to have offered his shares to save the firm from bankruptcy.