The US Ministry of Finance developed a series of sanctions against Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in early March, but they were not announced at the request of the White House National Security Council. The Wall Street Journal claims that during a recent telephone conversation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy advised US President Joseph Biden to wait a bit with sanctions against the oligarch, as he could "be an important mediator in negotiations with Russia."
"We are not going to quote private conversations between President Biden and President Zelenskyy," said Emily Horn, a Spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. The US Ministry of Finance did not respond to a request from The Wall Street Journal to give a comment.
"It is not helpful to comment on Mr. Abramovich's participation in the negotiations and the interest of their success," a statement from Mr Abramovich's spokesman said.
The Ukrainian Office of the President and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington have not yet responded to a request for comment. Earlier this month, Britain and the EU imposed sanctions on Roman Abramovich over his ties to Putin, freezing his assets.
Earlier, The Jerusalem Post reported that Roman Abramovich was trying to help in the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow at the request of Ukraine.
U.S. officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal stressed that they had no reason to believe that Mr. Abramovich was particularly helpful in the Ukraine-Russia negotiations.