’s president asked United States president to avoid sanctioning owner Roman Abramovich, according to reports.
Abramovich has already been sanctioned by the UK and EU due to his link with Russia president Vladimir Putin.
In its statement announcing Abramovich’s sanction earlier this month, the British Government described Chelsea’s owner as a ‘pro-Kremlin oligarch’ and claimed he ‘has had a close relationship for decades’ with Putin.
The reports that the United States had drafted a set of sanctions for Abramovich but a phone call between Zelensky and Biden has put a halt to those plans.
The report claims that Zelensky asked Biden to hold off as there is a belief that Abramovich could be used as a ‘go-between’ during peace talks with Russia.
A spokesman for Abramovich said: ‘For the negotiations, and in the interest of them succeeding, it is not helpful commenting on the process, nor on Mr Abramovich’s involvement.
‘As previously stated, based on requests, including from Jewish organisations in Ukraine, he has been doing all he can to support efforts aimed at restoring peace as soon as possible.’
However, The Wall Street Journal also reports that some United States officials are dubious over Abramovich’s role in any peace talks and have doubts over how useful the 55-year-old has been during negotiations.
Last month, Ukrainian film producer Alexander Rodnyansky claimed that Abramovich ‘has been trying to mobilise support’ for peace talks.
‘I can confirm that the Ukrainian side have been trying to find someone in Russian willing to help them in finding a peaceful resolution,’ said Rodnyansky.
‘They are connected to Mr Abramovich through the Jewish community and reached out to him for help. Mr Abramovich has been trying to mobilise support for a peaceful resolution ever since.
‘Although Mr Abramovich’s influence is limited, he is the only one who responded and taken it upon himself to try.
‘If this will have an impact or not, I don’t know, but I am in contact with Zelensky’s staff myself, and know that they are grateful for his genuine efforts.’
Abramovich, who bought Chelsea for £140 million in 2003, put Chelsea up for sale earlier this month but will no longer receive any money from the transaction following the UK’s sanction.
The Russian billionaire has also sought to protect some of his key assets, including his £430m yacht, Solaris, which was moved from Spain and docked in Montenegro, which is not in the EU.
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