TNK-BP Sending Mixed Messages.

(From The Moscow Times)

In a brand-new office on the 14th floor of a central Moscow high-rise, the Russian shareholders who own half of embattled oil firm TNK-BP are waging a war.

On a recent afternoon, the shareholders' newly appointed press secretary stood at the office's sparkling windows, offering an expansive view of Moskva-City, the ultimate symbol of the teeming capital's oil-driven wealth.

"Why do they have to do everything all at once and so big," he said, musing about the inevitable traffic the new office complex will generate. A Russian reporter standing nearby answered, "Because who knows what tomorrow will bring?"

Despite protests by AAR and BP -- the equal shareholders in TNK-BP -- investors and analysts continue to function under the assumption that the firm is ripe for a state-run partner in the days of …