A handwritten card given to Vladimir Putin by Roman Abramovich in first person view. The Russian oligarch who owns Chelsea’s trip to Moscow served one purpose: to deliver a message from Zelensky to the Tsar. Another attempt at mediation, a role the tycoon has taken on since negotiations began with both sides agreeing. But what did that piece of paper say? According to The Times, Ukraine’s president sent his proposals for a peace deal, but Putin’s reply was blunt: “Tell him I’ll throw it in the trash.”
Abramovich and the return to Kyiv
In recent weeks, Abramovich has traveled back and forth between Istanbul, Moscow and Kyiv. After meeting Putin, the 55yearold returned to Istanbul and joined Ukrainian politician Rustem Umerov, who is believed to be the chief negotiator in Kyiv. The two met at a fivestar hotel in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Talks appear to be making some progress, although it’s unclear how influential Abramovich was in the negotiations. The oligarch was trying to salvage what was left of his reputation, which lay in tatters after the British government slapped him with heavy fines over his alleged ties to Putin. Abramovich has always denied any close relationship with the Russian President.
Abramovich’s role in the negotiations
For weeks, there has been talk of Abramovich as a possible “mediator” in the peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. To the point that major international media outlets have written in recent days that it was Volodymyr Zelenskyy who asked the United States not to impose sanctions on his assets. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Ukrainian president would have suggested to Joe Biden that he wait out the sanctions because the oligarch could play a role in the peace negotiations with Russia thanks to his influence in the Kremlin. This is not a side issue, especially at a time when mediation is stagnating and indeed, Mykhailo Podolyak, chief negotiator of the Ukrainian side, stressed that the talks have entered a particularly “difficult stage because only “the Ukrainian side has clear and clear positions . basically “.
The sanctions
In early March, US Treasury Department officials drafted sanctions to punish Abramovich after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. However, at the time of their announcement, the National Security Council told the Treasury Department to wait and see. Behind the request was Zelenskyj’s advice to Biden to freeze the measures. In fact, the Jewish billionaire was the only major oligarch who publicly said he would try to pressure Moscow to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Already on February 28, Roman Abramovich was spotted in Belarus at the request of Ukraine to take part in the first round of negotiations, although he was never in the delegations’ photos. But now Abramovich appears to be off the radar, and his diverse interests and passports give him some freedom of movement.
The tycoon’s last safe sighting was at Tel Aviv airport (Abramovich has an Israeli passport), where he would have taken what appeared to be a private flight to Moscow. Much more is known about his interests and his yachts. After the English government’s asset freeze, the oligarch decided to take his luxurious boats, true jewels of marine engineering, out of Europe. The best known is the Eclipse, which was sighted in the Turkish port city of Marmaris. His other yacht, My Solaris, on the other hand, is based in Bodrum, another Turkish city not so far from the previous one. The choice of Turkey as a safe haven is explained by Erdogan’s country’s noncompliance with the European sanctions line propagated against Putin, also because he is involved in the mediation in the first row. Erdogan’s soft line also allows Abramovich’s freedom of movement: According to the Turkish portal “Fanatic”, the clan of the Russian entrepreneur has started negotiations to take over the Turkish club G’ztepe after initially losing Chelsea.
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