BP holds talks with Russian partners amid row

By Ekaterina Golubkova and Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW, Jun (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) Chief Executive Tony Hayward held talks with a Russian shareholder of BP's local venture on Friday after an outbreak of public sparring between the partners amid speculation the Russian side could sell out.

A BP spokesman said Hayward had met TNK-BP shareholder Mikhail Fridman, describing the talks as "positive" and adding they would continue to try and resolve their differences.

Fridman's partner and another major Russian shareholder Viktor Vekselberg said he expected the dispute to be resolved within days, while sources close to the Russian shareholders said the parties would meet again in three days.

Hayward, whose firm owns half of the third-largest Russian oil producer, flew to Moscow on Thursday to discuss the future of the embattled company, which many analysts expect to fall under the control of a Russian state firm.

A source close to TNK-BP said Hayward had also met Fridman's partners in the Alfa Group conglomerate, German Khan and Peter Aven, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.

"Positive developments were evident," a source close to TNK-BP told Reuters.

BP and TNK-BP's Russian shareholders, who split control of TNK-BP 50-50, last week publicly confirmed they had differences over the company's strategy for the first time. Every fourth barrel of BP's production comes from Russia.

The Russian owners -- Fridman, Khan, Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, have demanded the resignation of TNK-BP Robert Dudley, but he, with the backing of BP, has resisted calls to step down.