Zelenskyy Proposed a Meeting with Putin Through Abramovich – FT
8 June 02:15
The former owner of Chelsea Football Club, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, visited Kyiv in May at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and was tasked with convincing Russian dictator Vladimir Putin of the need for a bilateral meeting, the Financial Times reported, citing “four informed sources,” according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich to Kyiv last month in a failed attempt to persuade Vladimir Putin to hold direct peace talks,” the publication writes.
According to the sources, Zelenskyy asked Abramovich to convey to the Russian president a message about his willingness to meet at their first bilateral summit more than four years after the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As Financial Times sources noted, Ukraine wanted to demonstrate its seriousness about holding direct peace talks with Russia in this way—even though the U.S., which had previously served as a mediator, has now shifted its focus to the situation in the Middle East. Kyiv hoped that a series of successful strikes on Russian territory, particularly on its oil refineries, and the halting of the Russian offensive achieved by the Ukrainian Armed Forces would strengthen the “incentive for an immediate ceasefire.” However, Putin showed no interest in meeting with Zelenskyy—apparently still relying on Russia’s advantage in resources.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich had visited Kyiv and stated his intention to convey a message to Vladimir Putin
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“He came to Kyiv. He said, ‘I am delivering a direct message to you, and I want to take a message from you and pass it on to Putin,'” the Ukrainian head of state noted.
At the same time, the president emphasized that Ukraine will not agree to concessions regarding the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas: “That was the key message. I said that we won’t back down. We won’t hand you victory that way.”
Zelenskyy added that Abramovich’s visit was not secret, and its purpose was to ascertain Ukraine’s position regarding possible peace talks.
“But he (Abramovich – IF-U) said it had to be quiet, without any publicity. I said: that’s your choice—it doesn’t matter to us,” Zelenskyy emphasized in the interview.
On June 5, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin stated that on May 21 he allegedly met with a Russian businessman and told him that he saw no point in meeting with Zelenskyy. However, Putin did not name the businessman—claiming that he “acted unofficially.”
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