Roman Abramovich Will Lead Ukraine-Russia Negotiations

Roman Abramovich (Instagram @_roman_abramovich_)

JAKARTA - Russian businessman and billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns English Premier League football club Chelsea, has agreed to a request by Ukraine to help negotiate an end to the war.

News of Abramovich's involvement in the talks was first reported by the Jewish News, which said Kiev had contacted him through Jewish contacts asking the Chelsea owner for help.

"I can confirm Roman Abramovich has been contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in reaching a peaceful resolution, and that he has since been trying to help," Abramovich's spokesman said.

However, there has been no immediate comment from the Ukrainian government.

Abramovich, who is Jewish and also an Israeli citizen, is one of the most influential businessmen to have made his fortune after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Forbes puts his net worth at 13.3 billion US dollars.

The former commodities trader who rose during the chaos of the 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin acquired stakes in oil company Sibneft, aluminum producer Rusal and airline Aeroflot which he later sold.

Under Russian President Vladimir Putin, Abramovich served as governor of the remote Arctic region of Chukotka in Russia's Far East.

It was not immediately clear what role Abramovich will play in talks between Russia and Ukraine that begin this Monday at the Ukraine-Belarus border.

Earlier, Ukraine's presidential office said Ukraine's goals for the talks were an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. The Kremlin has not said explicitly what its goals are in these talks.

The 55-year-old Abramovich said last Saturday he had given Chelsea trusteeship.

In recent days, two other Russian billionaires, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, have called on the Russian government to end the war.

On February 24, Putin ordered "special military operations" against Ukraine just three days after he recognized the independence of two Russian-backed Ukrainian territories.