対ウクライナ交渉に意外な人物　アブラモビッチ氏の役割は

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】トルコのイスタンブールで３月２９日に行われた、ロシアとウクライナによる停戦交渉に意外な人物の姿があった。サッカーイングランド・プレミアリーグのチェルシーのオーナーを務めるロシア人富豪、ロマン・アブラモビッチ氏だ。（写真はアブラモビッチ氏）
　アブラモビッチ氏は長年、ロシア政府と友好的な関係を維持しつつ、西側諸国を飛び回る生活を続けてきた。なぜ停戦交渉に参加したのだろうか。

■交渉での役割は
　トルコのレジェプ・タイップ・エルドアン大統領は「アブラモビッチ氏はロシア側代表団の一員として交渉に参加した」とし、ロシア政府から信用されているあかしだと述べた。
　やはりトルコのメブリュト・チャブシオール外相は、アブラモビッチ氏は侵攻初期から和平を真摯（しんし）に求めており、交渉でも「有益な」貢献を果たしたと評価した。
　ロシアのドミトリー・ペスコフ大統領報道官は、アブラモビッチ氏の参加について、代表団の正式メンバーではないが、ロシア、ウクライナ両国の同意を得ていると説明した。
　アブラモビッチ氏をめぐっては、さらに意外な展開を見せた。米紙ウォールストリート・ジャーナルが先月２８日、同氏が毒を盛られた疑いがあると報じたのだ。
　同氏は３月初め、ウクライナのウォロディミル・ゼレンスキー大統領と面談するため首都キーウを訪問した際、毒を盛られ、一時的に視力に影響が出たという。

■「歴史の正しい側」
　ロシアによるウクライナ侵攻で、アブラモビッチ氏自身も大打撃を受けたとみられている。欧州連合（ＥＵ）と英国から制裁を科された上、チェルシーも売却せざるを得なくなり、数十億ドルの資産が吹き飛んだ。
　米誌フォーブスによると、侵攻前の同氏の純資産は約１５０億ドル（約１兆８４００億円）だったが、現在は８３億ドル（約１兆１８０億円）に目減りしている。
　同氏は制裁回避のため、全長１６０メートルと１４０メートルのスーパーヨット２隻を、制裁に参加していないトルコに移した。
　シンクタンク「カーネギー財団モスクワセンター」のアレクサンドル・バウノフ上級研究員は、アブラモビッチ氏の交渉参加について「何通りかの見方ができる」が、ウクライナの破壊された地区の復興に向けた「補償」が関係している可能性があるとしている。
　バウノフ氏は「アブラモビッチ氏にとって、歴史の正しい側に付く歓迎すべきチャンスでもある」と指摘した。
　ロシアの反体制派アレクセイ・ナワリヌイ氏が設立した反汚職財団で調査責任者を務めるマリア・ペブチク氏は「アブラモビッチ氏は（ウラジーミル・）プーチン大統領の取り巻きの新興財閥（オリガルヒ）の中でも『最も忠実で献身的』だ」と説明。オリガルヒは政治に立ち入らないという、大統領府との暗黙の了解を守ることで利益を得てきたと話した。
　ペブチク氏は、アブラモビッチ氏の交渉参加について「私にはＰＲ活動のように見える」と語った。
　アブラモビッチ氏は２００１～０８年、ロシア北東部チュコト自治管区の知事を務めた。政府系テレビ局「第１チャンネル」を政府と共同保有していたこともある。
　アブラモビッチ氏はメディアへの露出を避け、インタビューを受けないことで知られる。ただ、３月２日には、チェルシー売却の意向を自ら発表した。
　同氏はその中で、ウクライナでの戦争の全犠牲者のために財団を設立し、当面の必需品の提供や長期的な復興支援を行うと明らかにした。言葉を慎重に選び、ロシアの侵攻に対する非難は一切しなかった。
　政治学者のコンスタンティン・カラチェフ氏はＡＦＰに対し、「最も重要なのは、プーチン氏がアブラモビッチ氏を信頼していることだ。一方、ゼレンスキー氏も彼を信頼できる」と語った。
　「アブラモビッチ氏は西側諸国で社会復帰する必要がある。世界市民としての立場を維持したいと思っている。ロシアに閉じこもりたいとは思っていないだろう」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/04/07-10:06）

When Turkey hosted talks between Russia and Ukraine last week, a familiar but unexpected face was seen among the officials and diplomats gathered in a wing of the former imperial Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
It was Roman Abramovich, the billionaire Russian tycoon and owner of Chelsea Football Club, who has long sought to strike a balance between cordial ties with the Kremlin and a jet-setting lifestyle in the West.
What was he doing at the Istanbul talks?
Abramovich participated in the negotiations as a member of the Russian delegation, explained Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He said Abramovich's presence indicated that the oligarch was trusted by Moscow.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Abramovich had been making sincere efforts for peace since the first days of the war, adding that he had made a positive contribution to diplomatic efforts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while Abramovich was not an official member of the delegation, he was involved in ensuring certain contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian sides, for which he had approval from both parties.
Adding to the intrigue, the Wall Street Journal last week reported that Abramovich had travelled to Kyiv earlier in March to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. While there, he suffered a suspected poisoning attack that temporarily affected his eyesight.
- 'Right side of history' -
Analysts say Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a personal disaster for Abramovich, leaving him sanctioned by the EU and UK, forced to sell Chelsea and seeing billions wiped off the value of his assets.
He has every personal interest in seeing a peaceful end to the conflict and possibly performing a role that could allow him to win back favour in the Western capitals that once welcomed him so ardently.
Alexander Baunov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said Abramovich's presence at the talks had various possible explanations but could be linked to reparations in rebuilding areas destroyed in Ukraine, possibly using private money.
For Abramovich, it's also a welcome chance to be on the right side of history, he added.
For critics, the situation has merely exposed the reality that Abramovich is a Kremlin-friendly oligarch, who managed to build up his wealth thanks to close ties with President Vladimir Putin.
Abramovich has had privileged access to the president and has maintained very good relations with him. This connection with the Russian leader helped him to maintain his considerable wealth, the EU said last month when it announced sanctions against Abramovich and other Russia oligarchs over Ukraine.
In a possible bid to avoid being hit by sanctions, two luxury superyachts owned by Abramovich ?- the over 160-metre Eclipse and 140-metre Solaris ?- have docked in Turkey, which has not joined the European sanctions.
- 'PR stunt?' -
Maria Pevchikh, investigative chief at Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, described Abramovich as the most faithful and devoted of Putin's oligarchs. She said they had profited from a tacit deal with the Kremlin to stay out of politics.
His participation in the talks looks like a PR stunt to me, she said.
In a surprising career turn, Abramovich served from 2001 to 2008 as governor of the sparsely populated Chukotka region in the far northeast of Russia, pouring his own money into one of the country's least developed regions.
Abramovich used to be a co-owner, along with the government, of Russia's Channel One television. The channel has earned notoriety during the invasion for its pro-Kremlin reporting and for being the target of an on-air protest by a disgruntled journalist.
He reduced his stake to 20 percent and then sold off that final portion to a Russian state-owned bank in March 2019.
According to Forbes magazine, the invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Abramovich's net worth being whittled down to $8.3 billion (7.6 billion euros), compared to almost $15 billion before the assault started.
And he likely has only limited access to that, it said, describing the invasion as a personal, financial and now physical disaster for Abramovich.
- 'Rehabilitate himself' -
Famously publicity shy and never giving interviews, Abramovich announced in a rare personal statement on March 2 that he was selling Chelsea Football Club, although the UK sanctions mean he cannot profit from the sale.
In a carefully worded statement that contained no criticism of the Russian invasion, he said then that a foundation would be set up for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine, including their immediate needs as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.
The most important thing is that Putin trusts him. But Zelensky can also trust him, Konstantin Kalachev, a Russian political scientist who once worked with the ruling party, told AFP.
Abramovich must rehabilitate himself in the West. He wants to keep his status as a citizen of the world. I doubt very much that he would want to isolate himself in Russia.