The Kremlin excluded Abramovich from negotiations, as it is now "no longer interested in engaging with the Ukrainian president."

Billionaire Roman Abramovich, who previously served as an unofficial envoy for the Kremlin in dealings with the West and Ukraine, was not included in the group of negotiators that Putin sent to engage in dialogue with Donald Trump's administration.

The 58-year-old Abramovich, who played a role in the "grain deal" in 2022, facilitated prisoner exchanges in 2023 and the return of abducted children to Ukraine, and later discussed the exchange of Alexei Navalny, is unlikely to play a role in the negotiations, a Russian official familiar with the situation told The Moscow Times.

According to him, Abramovich's main function was that he had access to both Putin and Zelensky at the same time. However, these "advantages" are no longer needed.

“The Kremlin is no longer interested in engaging with the Ukrainian president,” the source told The Moscow Times.

For negotiations with the American delegation in Saudi Arabia, Putin sent Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, his foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, a former ambassador to the U.S., and Kirill Dmitriev – the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Dmitriev is closely connected to Putin through family ties: he is married to Natalia Popova, a close friend and business partner of Ekaterina Tikhonova, Putin’s younger daughter.

Background. As reported by Mind, Russian oligarch Rybolovlev, who rescued Trump from bankruptcy, was present at the negotiations in Riyadh.

Rybolovlev's biography contains numerous facts proving that the Russian oligarch is connected to both Putin and Trump.