Almost a year ago, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich made an attempt to help stop the war in Ukraine, salvage his reputation in the West and his $15 billion fortune. However, his attempts were unsuccessful, and now his role is reduced to negotiations on the exchange of prisoners or the “grain deal”. The Wall Street Journal writes about this in an article dedicated to the Russian oligarch.
Ukrainian and Western officials told the publication they no longer expected Abramovich to play a key role as mediator in dialogue between the warring countries. Moreover, his motives are questioned by the Westerners, who see him as an attempt to achieve the lifting of sanctions.
US officials have said they are increasingly wary of Abramovich, but have so far refrained from following the UK, Canada and the European Union into imposing sanctions on him, as Ukraine insists.
Kyiv recently added Abramovich to its sanctions list, but the sanctions are suspended until the prisoners of war are returned.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Abramovich remains an acceptable intermediary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine and its allies. They claim that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Abramovich has personally met with Putin and talked to him on the phone several times. The businessman brings Kyiv’s position to Putin, and then conveys the Kremlin’s point of view to the Ukrainian side, writes The Wall Street Journal. He also helps with small exchanges of prisoners every few weeks.
As adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak told the publication, Abramovich “can play a role if there is a need to intervene in some issues,” but this is not the role of an intermediary that he played in the first rounds of the negotiation process.
- Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Russian billionaires, including Roman Abramovich. Abramovich’s assets were frozen. He is seeking the lifting of sanctions.
- At the same time, Abramovich was not included in the US sanctions list. Ukraine asked the White House not to impose sanctions on him after the businessman became an unofficial mediator in the peace talks that representatives of Ukraine and Russia held in Turkey shortly after the start of the war.
- After falling into the sanctions list, Abramovich sold the English football club Chelsea for more than five billion dollars. The Russian oligarch said that the proceeds will go to help victims in Ukraine.
- Roman Abramovich regularly occupied high places in the ranking of the richest people on the planet. He was called an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, although he himself denies this and does not participate in Russian political life.
