President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not rule out, but is also not certain, that Russian oligarch and former owner of the Chelsea Football Club Roman Abramovich, who visited Kyiv in May, will represent the Russian side at hypothetical future negotiations to end the war.
Responding to a journalist's question on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, regarding whether Abramovich could be a potential representative for Vladimir Putin concerning the end of the war, Zelenskyy stated that he did not know. He expressed his belief that Putin simply used people, noting that it was not a matter of whether Abramovich was a mediator or not, but rather that he was just being used.
According to the president, Putin has his own decisions in his head. However, Zelenskyy noted that when Abramovich arrived, there had been a very concrete, specific dialogue with him. The president added that he believed Abramovich understood his position and Ukraine's proposal 100%, and had stated that he would go and convey the feedback to the Kremlin, after which they would see.
At the same time, he suggested that Abramovich could serve as a representative of the Russian Federation. He noted that Abramovich could be a representative from Putin because each country has to decide who will represent it at the technical level or at the level of national security agencies, adding that time would tell.
According to him, the question is whether this war can be stopped. He stated that if President Trump could do it, God bless him, but reiterated that everyone recognizes that Putin does not want to stop the war. Zelenskyy emphasized that more pressure needs to be exerted on him, as he has no feelings regarding losses. He asked if one could imagine 35,000 Russian casualties each month in wounded and killed, noting what was happening and concluding that someone has to stop him.
As previously reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich had visited Kyiv and stated his intention to convey his message to Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy added that Abramovich's visit was not a secret and its purpose was to ascertain Ukraine's position regarding possible peace negotiations. Subsequently, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, commenting on Zelenskyy's meeting with Abramovich, emphasized that the Ukrainian leader utilizes every opportunity to bring peace closer.
At the same time, Zelenskyy stated that he had raised the issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer regarding the transfer to Ukraine of the proceeds from Abramovich's sale of the Chelsea Football Club, which could be used, in particular, to strengthen air defense. Prior to that, Abramovich's legal team informed the UK government that the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea in 2022 belonged "entirely" to him and that he was prepared to fight any attempts to confiscate those funds.
