Rosneft merger will bring Yugansk under Gazprom's control, as originally intended, but YUKOS said it would not be the end of its campaign to pursue Yugansk's owners through international courts. "YUKOS confirms that it will use all legal means to dispute this illegal deal in the interests of the tens of thousands of shareholders in the oil company," YUKOS spokesman Alexander Shadrin told Reuters. Max Gutbrod, a partner at Baker and Mackenzie's Moscow office, said the Rosneft purchase may make it harder for lawyers acting for YUKOS and Menatep, the company controlling the stricken oil firm, to pursue litigation successfully. "You cannot transgress the state's freedom to tax and enforce taxation on sovereign territory and that is what this case is all about," he said. --SP 1837 Local Time 1537 GMT
