Two prominent Russian billionaires who are close allies of Vladimir Putin have called for peace in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have condemned the invasion and demanded peace talks to begin.
While peace talks were held earlier today in Belarus between Ukrainian and Russian officials no breakthrough was found and violence continues to rage across the nation.
Fridman is co-founder of Russia's largest private bank 'Alfa' and estimated by Forbes to be the 128th richest person in the world, while Deripaska is the founder of Russian aluminium giant Rusal and has a personal fortune of around $2 billion. Both are seen as powerful figures within the country and hold at least some political sway.
Fridman, who was born in Ukraine, said:
"I was born in Western Ukraine and lived there until I was 17. My parents are Ukrainian citizens and live in Lviv, my favourite city. But I have also spent much of my life as a citizen of Russia, building and growing businesses. I am deeply attached to the Ukrainian and Russian peoples and see the current conflict as a tragedy for them both."
The move by the two comes as Western nations crackdown on Russian money and the Russian financial system. This includes targeting so called oligarchs who are fabulously wealthy individuals who often hold political power. The Western nations actions have included freezing financial assets and banning companies from operating through the international financial system.
The financial assault has so far led to the collapse of the Russian rouble. The Russian stock market did not even open on Monday, convinced that doing so would see a collapse in the value of many companies and add to further financial instability. While Russia remains a powerful country, its economy is smaller than that of other nations such as Canada and Italy, which have far smaller populations. Russian wealth is also concentrated in very few hands compared to other countries.
Another billionaire told Reuters news agency on the promise of anonymity that the strongly hoped a peaceful solution would be found soon. They said:
"While a solution seems frighteningly far off, I can only join those whose fervent desire is for the bloodshed to end. I'm sure my partners share my view."
With another adding:
"It is going to be catastrophic in all senses: for the economy, for relations with the rest of the world, for the political situation. Businessmen understand very well the consequences. But who is asking the opinion of business about this?"
[Based on reporting by: The Daily Mail]
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