Businessman Roman Abramovich took part in the initial stage of negotiations with Ukraine, now they continue at the level of delegations, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday, TASS reported.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, during one of his phone conversations with US leader Joe Biden, allegedly asked him not to impose sanctions against the Russian businessman.

According to the newspaper, which cited people familiar with the content of the conversation, Zelenskyy's request was related to the fact that Abramovich could become an important mediator in negotiations with Russia.