RWE Taking No Part DEA Dispute

German utility RWE said on Tuesday it will not get involved in a potential legal dispute between Britain and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne over RWE's oil and gas business.

LetterOne wrapped up the 5.1 billion euro ($5.49 billion) purchase of RWE's oil and gas unit DEA last week, but the British government threatened to force the sale of the arm's UK assets unless Fridman can assure they are immune to potential sanctions.

Britain has given LetterOne until Wednesday to explain why it should be allowed to retain ownership of UK North Sea oil and gas fields under the DEA deal.

"We will not participate in legal action against the British government in the case of no further sanctions," said RWE Chief Executive Peter Terium on Tuesday. "It is the buyer's issue."

Terium confirmed that RWE was only obliged to buy back the British assets held by DEA, worth about 1 billion euros, if sanctions were imposed against LetterOne's owners within one year following the deal's closing.

The utility, which on Tuesday forecast a drop in profits for a third consecutive year, said it had already received proceeds from the DEA sale. ($1 = 0.9295 euros) (Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert