The head of one of Russia's largest oil companies has blamed the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) for creating volatility in oil prices.

Opec has been accused by the EU and the US of being greedy when it cut production to raise the cost of oil - but it is unusual for the head of a major oil company to call for a price cut.

But Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chairman and chief executive of Yukos, makes the claim with an air of confidence ahead of the company's first-quarter results next week.

"The West still knows so little about Russia. I have the feeling the location of the Kremlin is still a mystery to most so it is no surprise to me that Russian businessmen evoke ambiguous feelings," counters Mr Khodorkovsky.

Russian reformation

However, Yukos is regarded as one of the few Russian companies with which the West can reliably do business.

Reform of the company began in 1999. It coincided with the handover of power in the Kremlin from Boris Yeltsin, who presided over the worst excess of the post-Soviet years, to Vladimir Putin in the same year.

This reform has produced concrete results.

When it reports its first quarterly results, it will be the first major Russian oil company to have successfully adopted the US GAAP accounting standard.

"The first thing we have done is to show that the company is stable and that there is good corporate governance," Mr Khodorkovsky said.

Many of these reforms have been facilitated by the new president's approach to business and changes in the law, particularly the tax law.

"There is now a proper legislative framework and here Russian oil companies have been working closely with the Russian government....The situation is evolving most positively," he added.

"For Yeltsin we were children about whom he was concerned, whom he ensured were not hurt in any way but to whom he had a patronising attitude," Mr Khodorkovsky said. "Putin's attitude is different. He sees us a partners in the realm of economics".

Though not all of President Putin's policies are well received by Mr Khodorkovsky.

While he supports the President's reforms of state-owned Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer, moves to censor a critical domestic media have not been as well received.

"I won't say that I like everything that has happened," he said.