Oligarch Roman Abramovich persuaded the Russian government to hold peace talks over Zoom instead of in Belarus despite Kremlin’s security concerns, report says

• Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is helping facilitate Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
• One example of his involvement was convincing the Kremlin to allow meetings on Zoom, WSJ reports. 
• Ukraine’s negotiator told the Journal that Abramovich helped ease Russia’s security concerns. 

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich — who is acting as an informal facilitator of Russia-Ukraine peace talks — convinced the Kremlin to allow Zoom meetings between the two countries, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. 

Ukraine’s negotiator David Arakhamia told the Journal that Russia originally wanted negotiations to be held in-person in Belarus, arguing that Zoom would present security risks. But the billionaire oligarch was able to persuade the Russians otherwise and spare the Ukrainian delegation an overnight journey, the report says. 

The exchange is one example of the different ways Abramovich has served as a middleman amid conflict resolution between the two countries, including the facilitation of prisoner exchanges and evacuation efforts in Ukraine.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the businessman currently sanctioned by both the UK and EU “is involved in ensuring certain contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian sides.”

Abramovich was photographed at peace talks held in Istanbul earlier this week. Peskov told reporters that while both Russia and Ukraine have approved the oligarch’s involvement, he is not an “official member of the delegation.”

Zoom did not respond to Insider’s request for comment about the use of its video conferencing application in the peace negotiations, and Abramovich was not able to be reached by Insider.

The Journal’s report — which is based on conversations with Ukrainian officials, including Arakhamia — comes amid growing scrutiny surrounding the oligarch’s unconventional role in the conflict resolution process. 

Ukraine’s UK ambassador Vadym Prystaiko recently told the BBC he had “no idea” why Abramovich was present at the Istanbul negotiations.

“I have no idea what Mr. Abramovich is claiming or doing. He is not a part of the negotiation team,” he said, later adding: “I don’t know if he’s buying his way out somehow or if he’s really useful, that’s very difficult to tell.”