Roman Abramovich makes public debut in peace talks

The Russian oligarch has been trying to shed assets amid sanctions, but is now taking a high-profile role.

Roman Abramovich, second row centre, listens to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the talks in Istanbul on Tuesday night. Picture: AFP

A few weeks ago, Roman Abramovich was the world’s best-known Russian oligarch, moving to sell or transfer some of his trophy assets, like English soccer powerhouse Chelsea, amid an array of Western sanctions following Russia’s ­invasion of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, he was playing a different public role: peace negotiator. Ukrainian officials say the Russian billionaire has been filling a key, if unofficial, role as a backchannel to Moscow in peace talks that have been conducted in fits and starts for weeks. Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said Mr Abramovich had been ­included in the formal negotiations in Istanbul because his role as an unofficial go-between had been widely reported by the media.

A spokesman for Mr Abramovich previously said that he was asked to be involved in the peace talks and has been trying to help find a resolution to the war.

Western officials have said in recent days they have been uncertain about how central Mr Abramovich has been to the talks. US officials, though, held off imposing sanctions on him because of a specific request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, made directly to Joe Biden, about his ­potential peace-talks role.

After saying early in the ­invasion he was approached by the Ukrainian side to help broker talks with Russia, he has been largely ­silent on the matter – and out of sight. That changed on Tuesday when he was photographed inside the negotiating room being used to hold talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials. Later in the afternoon, he was spotted huddled with Ukrainian negotiators on the terrace of a nearby hotel.

The day before it was reported he and Ukrainian negotiators had suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning early this month, after a meeting in Kyiv. Sources blamed hard-line Moscow supporters of trying to sabotage talks. All those who suffered symptoms have since recovered. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday denied reports of a Moscow-linked poisoning, saying they were “part of an informational war”.

Weeks after that alleged poisoning, Mr Abramovich showed up at peace talks in Istanbul on Tuesday. Wearing a blue suit and appearing healthy, he was photographed greeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials at the talks, which took place inside a converted ­Ottoman palace on the European bank of the Bosporus.

During a speech by Mr Erdogan, Mr Abramovich sat next to the President’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin. Mr Abramovich wore a pair of headphones listening to a live translation of the speech.

Mr Abramovich made his fortune in the oil business during Russia’s transition from communism to capitalism. He then spent lavishly in the West, buying up ­expensive property in London, art, yachts, planes and the Chelsea soccer team. Days after the ­invasion, he put Chelsea and a London mansion up for sale.

The UK and EU has since imposed sanction on him, alongside dozens of other Russian billionaires they accuse of benefiting from their close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Wall Street Journal