MOSCOW, December 4 - RAPSI. Arbitration proceedings to resolve a dispute between Russian oligarchs Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska in connection with suspected violations of the Norilsk Nickel shareholders' agreement has been postponed until mid-February, according to a Kommersant report.

The newspaper reported that the parties have already drafted a document meant to settle the conflict but it has not been signed yet.

The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has postponed the hearings for the claim Oleg Deripaska's Rusal filed against Vladimir Potanin's Interros until mid-February.

Rusal owner Oleg Deripaska owns a 25% stake in Norilsk Nickel, and Potanin's Interros controls 28%. The two have long been grappling for control of the nickel giant. Rusal claims that the Norilsk board has been dominated by Interros loyalists since Rusal lost a board seat in a 2010 reshuffling.

In October 2012, talks resumed on the terms of a new shareholder agreement, the key elements of which were the level of Norilsk Nickel's dividends, the settlement of mutual financial claims and the post of Norilsk Nickel's head, currently held by Vladimir Strzhalkovsky.

According to the preliminary arrangements, Vladimir Potanin should head the company, while Roman Abramovich would purchase seven-ten percent of shares in Norilsk Nickel.

The Kommersant source said that everything dealing with Roman Abramovich's stake has been removed from the amicable agreement.

The source added that Potanin has signed the agreement but that there was no information as to whether Deripaska had signed it.

Rusal and Interros refused to comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly expressed hope on at least two occasions that Norilsk's majority shareholders would quickly arrive at a suitable agreement. In August 2010 he stated, "I do not care which of the shareholders owns a controlling stake, or in what ratio. What matters is that they solve the company's problems."

Norilsk Nickel is a diversified ore mining and smelting company, and the world's leading nickel and palladium producer. It operates industrial facilities in the Norilsk industrial region and on the Kola Peninsula in Russia, Finland, the United States, Australia, Botswana and South Africa.

According to its website, Interros is one of Russia's largest private companies, delving into the following areas: metals and mining, entertainment media, property and tourism, and transport and logistics. As of early 2012, its assets were valued at about $15 billion.