Roman Abramovich, sanctioned owner of the Chelsea Football Club, mysteriously showed up at the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, and is said to be playing an unofficial role.
When diplomats from Russia and Ukraine met for talks in the 19th-century Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Tuesday, their host urged the antagonists to reach a cease-fire “to the benefit of everyone.” Those words from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey may have resonated in particular with a Russian oligarch in the room, mysteriously watching from a front-row seat. The oligarch, Roman Abramovich, the 55-year-old owner of Britain’s storied Chelsea Football Club soccer team, is not a member of the Russian side of the talks. He has been sanctioned by the British government — but, curiously, not the United States — for ties with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who started the war. Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said that oligarchs like Mr. Abramovich should “hang their heads in shame.” Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain, Vadym Prystaiko, told the BBC that he had “no idea what Mr. Abramovich is claiming or doing” at the talks. Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, would not specify what Mr. Abramovich was doing but said Moscow had “approved” his participation to coordinate between both sides. The unknowns of why he was in the room only added intrigue to the talks, which were reported to have made the first significant progress since the war began more than a month ago. And in a further hint of mystery, news emerged that Mr. Abramovich had been entangled in a bizarre episode, earlier this month, concerning whether he and members of the Ukrainian negotiating team were poisoned. The oligarch, who did not comment on why he was attending the talks, appeared to be trying to present himself to the world as an earnest and trusted conduit between Kyiv and Moscow. Critics of Mr. Abramovich suggested he was grandstanding for publicity, part of an effort to save his empire. Still, Mr. Abramovich has gotten close to a key member of Ukraine’s negotiating team, Rustem Umerov, according to a person familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are delicate. Mr. Umerov, this person said, believes that Mr. Abramovich wants to see the war stopped. By the time Mr. Abramovich had been sanctioned by the British government, he had been playing a quiet role in the peace process. He was acknowledged as part of a public round of negotiations in Belarus that began four days into the war. But now reports have emerged of Mr. Abramovich’s participation in a less publicized track, mediated by Turkey, which had him shuttling between Kyiv, Moscow and Istanbul.
