According to the Financial Times on June 7, Zelensky invited Abramovich to Kyiv last month to request that he deliver a message to President Putin regarding the summit. Citing four sources, the FT reported that "President Zelensky sent a message indicating he is prepared for direct peace negotiations with Russia."
Abramovich is said to have communicated this message to President Putin. However, Putin met with a Russian business figure who had visited Kyiv last month and responded that meeting with Zelensky would be pointless, indicating that Zelensky's proposal for a summit was not accepted.
Separately, on June 4, President Zelensky sent an open letter to President Putin proposing a ceasefire agreement through a summit. A senior Ukrainian official noted that the message conveyed through Abramovich was similar to the open letter but was less confrontational in tone. Putin, however, rejected the summit proposal, stating that the open letter contained "rude expressions."
Abramovich has been involved in informal talks between Russia and Ukraine since the early days of the conflict. He participated in the Istanbul peace negotiations and the mediation of the Black Sea grain agreement in 2022, and has continued to engage in exchanges between the two sides, including prisoner swaps. Although he is subject to Western sanctions, he is one of the few Russian figures that Ukraine can accept as a dialogue partner, making him a potential mediator once again.
However, Russia maintains a negative stance toward direct summits. President Putin has indicated that talks would be meaningless as long as Ukraine does not cease its military resistance.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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