Vladimir Putin has personally approved the involvement of Roman Abramovich in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the Financial Times reveals, citing two people with direct knowledge of the case.
As the British newspaper comments, Putin's "direct blessing" suggests that the Russian oligarch sought approval for his mediation role at the highest level.
This contradicts his assurances that he does not have a close relationship with the Russian president, for which he was severely sanctioned first by the UK and then by the EU.
Roman Abramovich, as his spokesman had admitted after an Israeli report, had sought to help launch the negotiations.
Specifically, the FT claims that the Russian tycoon met in late February with a senior official from the office of the Ukrainian president, Zelensky, to that end.
In fact, President Zelensky's adviser David Arachamia assures the British newspaper that Abramovich was "heavily involved" in the talks and even says he met him in Gomel, Belarus, during the first round of negotiations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Abramovich had a role in arranging the talks but did not confirm direct approval from President Putin.
One of the newspaper's sources says that for Abramovich himself, his involvement was a risk, but he had said "I want to do something".
The Financial Times also notes that Abramovich has been very active since the start of the war, both trying to arrange meetings between mediators and on humanitarian issues.
He has reportedly met recently with former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Moscow, as well as with the head of Russian negotiators Vladimir Medinsky, and with President Erdogan's foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin when he was in Turkey.
Source:APE
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