Why does Roman Abramovich participate in the negotiations of Russia and Ukraine? Does Putin trust him? And is he really deciding something?

Retelling of the article Financial Times

Roman Abramovich from the first days of the war in Ukraine has become one of its most obscure, but interesting figures. The businessman, who, since the beginning of the zero with all his might and with varying success, tried to distance himself from the Kremlin, became the “trusted person” of Vladimir Putin in Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. The publication of the Financial Times has published a large material dedicated to Abramovich’s path from Sibneft and Chukotka to attempts to save his condition and become an important player in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Here is the retelling of this article.

"Believes, trusts him"

In the zero Roman Abramovich - unlike his Sibneft partner, Boris Berezovsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was arrested in 2003, managed not to quarrel with the Kremlin and even head Chukotka for eight years as a governor. But in subsequent years and until the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Abramovich tried to distance himself as much as possible from politics and ties with Vladimir Putin. At the same time, according to FT sources, he continued to regularly visit the round tables of the Putin oligarchs, although he rarely spoke at them.

In 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and the war flared up in the Donbass, the USA and the EU imposed sanctions against dozens of people close to Putin, but not against Abramovich. “Someone on the table always had a dossier on him,” one British official admits in a conversation with FT. “But, as the strategy explained to me, the point was that if they“ squeeze ”these people too early, they could not affect the actions of the guy from above.”

On the day of the invasion of Ukraine, February 24, Putin called the largest Russian businessmen in the Kremlin, among the invited were Abramovich. But he was late and met with the president already personally. According to the three sources of FT, Putin personally “blessed” Abramovich to act in peace negotiations. During the negotiations that ended in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said that Abramovich’s presence in the negotiations shows that Putin “believes, trusts him”.

"There is no great patriotism in this"

According to FT, Vladimir Zelensky himself asked the United States to postpone the introduction of sanctions against Abramovich so that he could continue to move between the countries (so far between Belarus, where the first two rounds of negotiations passed, and Turkey, where the third round took place) as part of the Russian delegation. But the President of Ukraine also says that he is skeptical of the businessman’s motives: “All these people are simply afraid of sanctions - I am sure that there is no great patriotism in this.”

Nevertheless, he added, “it was unrealistic to reach the Russian government. [Now] someone succeeds. " But critics of Abramovich insist that he uses negotiations to save his foreign assets.

"Roman never in life has talked with Putin as much as in the last month"

FT interlocutors, close to Abramovich, argue that he meets Putin no more than any of several dozen large businessmen, whom the president regularly calls for himself. “Roman never in my life spoke with Putin as much as in the last month. Others could also intervene, but did not, ”the source says.

Therefore, it is unclear whether it has a real impact on the situation. At the same time, someone is probably dissatisfied with his role in negotiations: Abramovich’s proxies are afraid that in early March, supporters of the “hard line” of the continuation of the war could poison him. So, Abramovich was among those who insisted on organizing humanitarian corridors for civilians of Mariupol .

"They are hostages and should listen to Putin"

Since the beginning of the war, Abramovich has already put up for the sale of Chelsea, overtook two yachts from the Caribbean to Turkey, transferred control over at least two investment companies to a partner and other ways saves its fortune, which Forbes estimates at $ 8.4 billion.

Probably, partly the sanctions of the West are intended to configure the largest Russian businessmen against Putin. However, so far none of them publicly condemned him (although some cautiously spoke out against the war). “The oligarchs had more power when they had assets in the West. Now they are completely dependent on Russia. They lost everything except their Russian assets. They are hostages and should listen to Putin, ”said FT source close to Abramovich.