Roman Abramovich Reportedly Travels To Ukraine In Bid To Revive Peace Talks With Russia

Topline

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich traveled to Kyiv in an attempt to restart peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Bloomberg reported Saturday, as negotiations between the two countries have reached a standstill more than seven weeks into the war.

Key Facts

Abramovich, an oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, met with Ukrainian negotiators to discuss paths to restarting negotiations, anonymous sources familiar with the meeting told Bloomberg.

Abramovich has served as an unofficial mediator between the two countries and has attended previous rounds of negotiations—though it was widely reported the billionaire was poisoned while he attended talks in early March.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally asked President Joe Biden for the U.S. to refrain from sanctioning Abramovich, as he could act as a go-between in peace negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.

A representative for Abramovich did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes, but his spokesperson declined to comment to Bloomberg.

Key Background

Little progress has been made since the last round of in-person talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul last month, which Abramovich attended. Zelensky said earlier this month that the atrocities discovered in the suburbs of Kyiv would make it “very hard to talk.” Putin said Tuesday talks with Kyiv have reached a “dead end,” and pledged that Russia’s “military operation will continue until its full completion.” Moscow has scaled back its offensive in recent weeks, withdrawing forces from the Kyiv area and turning its focus to gaining ground in the Donbas region, where it has supported pro-Russian separatist states in fighting that has raged since 2014.

Big Number

$8.3 billion. That’s how much Abramovich is worth, according to Forbes’ real-time wealth tracker.

Tangent

The Channel Island of Jersey, located between England and France, froze more than $7 billion in assets suspected to be connected to Abramovich on Wednesday. The U.K. government also froze up to $13 billion in assets belonging to two of Abramovich’s longtime business associates, Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich. Tenenbaum is a director of Chelsea F.C., Abramovich’s soccer team, which he attempted to sell before the U.K. sanctioned him.

Further Reading

Abramovich Visits Kyiv, Seeks to Revive Ukraine-Russia Talks (Bloomberg)

Roman Abramovich Has $7 Billion In Suspected Assets Frozen In Jersey (Forbes)

Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich Pictured At Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks After Reports Of Suspected Poisoning (Forbes)

Source Close To Roman Abramovich Confirms He Was Poisoned While Helping Negotiate In Ukraine (Forbes)