The head of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks with the Russian Federation, David Arakhamia, considers the role of the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in this process to be positive, since he initially acted as an “unofficial channel of communication.”
“In fact, to be honest, he plays a very positive role. But I don’t understand why he began to play a public role. Because from the very beginning he had such a role that in negotiations it is called back channel, that is, an additional communication channel, unofficial , which helps to say some complex things in normal human language, and not in diplomatic – what they cannot say officially. Then, thanks to the international press, this hidden channel became known to the whole world in fact. As far as I understand the position, it is no longer hidden and is no longer a back channel, but is another face in the negotiations,” he said in an interview on the air of the national telethon.
Arakhamia believes that Abramovich is trying to position himself as a neutral party in the negotiation process.
“Although we do not perceive it as a neutral side. But, we can say that it is, of course, more neutral than the official side of the negotiations,” the head of the Ukrainian delegation added.
