Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that businessman Roman Abramovich participated in organizing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to reach a ceasefire.
“Yes, he participated in the initial stage” of organizing the talks, said the media official in the Russian presidency, stressing that negotiations are now taking place between the two delegations only.
The US Wall Street Journal reported that earlier this month, US Treasury officials prepared a series of sanctions against the Russian oligarch, after the Kremlin’s February 24 military offensive against Ukraine.
However, the White House National Security Council lifted these sanctions at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who recommended to his US counterpart Joe Biden not to immediately apply punitive measures to Abramovich, as he could be a mediator with Russia in the negotiation process, according to the Wall Street Journal. .
In many countries – including Portugal, where Abramovich obtained citizenship, due to his alleged Sephardic Jewish ancestry – there were political movements of exasperation because the oligarchy was not on all the lists of economic sanctions imposed on Moscow.
Although Abramovich is not on the list of Russian oligarchs subject to sanctions in the US, he was sanctioned by the UK government and the European Union for his “decade-long close relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As a result of these sanctions that froze Abramovich’s assets and prevented him from entering the United Kingdom and the European Union, the Russian billionaire announced the sale of English football club Chelsea.
On February 24, Russia launched a military attack on Ukraine that killed at least 977 people, including 81 children, injured 1,594 among the civilian population, including 108 minors, and caused another 10 million people to flee, including 360 million to neighboring countries according to Latest UN figures.
According to the United Nations, there are about 13 million people in need of humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
The international community in general condemned the Russian invasion, and responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and tightening economic and political sanctions on Moscow.
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