Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, is trying to broker a deal to end the war in Ukraine amid global rage over Russia’s invasion.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Abramovich is already in Belarus, where delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to meet on the border town of Gomel later on Monday.
Abramovich is believed to have flown into the eastern European country ahead of crunch talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials.
The Russian-Israeli billionaire has been under pressure to speak out following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
There have also been calls in the Ukrainian Parliament for the 55-year-old businessman to face sanctions as a major oligarch ‘with links to the Russian State.’
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But Abramovich vehemently denies he is close to the Kremlin or has done anything that would merit sanctions on him.
On Saturday, amid the mounting pressure, Abramovich announced plans to hand over the stewardship of his club Chelsea to the Blues’ charitable trust.
But today, in a surprising move, a spokesman for Chelsea has now revealed that Abramovich has been ‘trying to help’ in brokering a peace deal.
“I can confirm that Roman Abramovich was contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in achieving a peaceful resolution and he has been trying to help ever since,” a Chelsea spokesman said.