On Tuesday, he played a different public role: a peace negotiator. Ukrainian officials say the Russian billionaire has taken on a key, albeit unofficial, role as a backbone to Moscow in crisis talks that have been going on for weeks. Ukrainian negotiator David Arahamia, the leader of the majority in the country’s parliament, said Mr Abramovich was included in the formal negotiations in Istanbul because his role as an informal mediator had now been widely reported in the media.
