Last month, Turkey's top administrative court scrapped the sale of 65.76 percent of TUPRAS to a joint venture between Germany-based chemicals company Efremov-Kautschuk GmbH, an affiliate of Russian oil producer Tatneft, and Turkey's Zorlu Holding company, citing breaches of law.

"The issue of TUPRAS is important. We are aware of the (legal) difficulties and we respect them, but we hope that... the tender will definitely be implemented," Putin told a meeting of Russian and Turkish business people during a visit to Ankara.

Turkish authorities had approved the sale in February, following a tender in which Efremov-Kautschuk and Zorlu Holding made the highest bid of 1.302 billion dollars (970 million euros).

Turkey's top administrative court upheld a lower court ruling that cancelled the tender on the grounds that it is against public interest and in breach of competition laws because it did not include an auction.

The privatization board now has one last recourse of appeal, but experts say it is unlikely to succeed.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the same gathering that his government was "very much" in favor of selling TUPRAS off to Efremov-Kautschuk and would use its last chance to avert the cancellation decision.

Putin also lobbied Ankara to buy attack helicopters from a joint venture between the Russian Kamov company and Israeli Aircraft Industries.

In 2000, Ankara had shortlisted the Russian-Israeli consortium, along with Bell Helicopter Textron of the United States, in a tender for 145 helicopters, but the project was cancelled last May for budgetary reasons, along with several other major defense industry tenders.

Ankara is expected to re-open the tenders.

"We want to take part (in the tender) as an equal participant. The product we offer is competitive and of good quality," Putin said.

Erdogan responded that Russian companies were welcome.

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