Tycoons want to meet Putin ‘to avoid another Cold War’

Billionaire Richard Branson said he’s seeking an audience with President Vladimir Putin as business leaders call for a peaceful end to the conflict in Ukraine.

Branson was joined by 15 businesspeople — including Canadian billionaire Jeff Skoll, Unilever NV’s CEO Paul Polman, Ukrainian tycoon Victor Pinchuk and Russian restaurateur Arkady Novikov — in urging governments to help resolve Ukraine’s crisis.

“We will ask for a meeting with President Putin and sit down with him and express our views,” Branson said yesterday in a phone interview from Switzerland.