PN questions Malta’s participation in Ukraine mission, calls for transparency
Labour accuses the Opposition of attacking AFM integrity
The Nationalist Party has called on the government to be transparent and clearly state whether it supports Ukraine.
Speaking during a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, PN MPs Darren Carabott, Beppe Fenech Adami and Mario De Marco commented on Malta’s involvement in the European Union Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine through the Armed Forces of Malta.
Carabott said, “This government accepted to participate in an EU military mission.” He added, “The mission, no matter what they say, is called Military Assistance Mission. It couldn’t be clearer.”
He explained that the purpose of the EU mission is for 24 countries to help train Ukrainian soldiers following the Russian invasion, and that, according to Prime Minister Robert Abela in Parliament on Monday, Malta is among them.
Carabott urged the Prime Minister to be “honest once and for all.”
De Marco also called on Abela to clarify his position on Ukraine, saying: “He can't be friendly to Zelensky when he sees him at a council meeting and then comes back here and says there is no realistic chance Ukraine can win the war.”
De Marco stressed that Ukraine can in fact win the war.
He also explained the Opposition’s interest in the matter, noting the long standing bipartisan understanding in Malta’s foreign policy that peace and security in the Mediterranean are interlinked with peace and security in Europe.
On Monday, Abela said that Malta had sent an Armed Forces of Malta official to act as a liaison officer between the UK, which is running the training, and the EU. He stated that the role was administrative and that no Maltese soldiers were involved in training the Ukrainian forces.
The AFM later clarified in a statement that the official, stationed in the UK, was not training soldiers but was instead facilitating communication between the UK and the EU. The army said the mission’s aim includes providing humanitarian assistance and emphasised that Malta’s contribution is solely humanitarian.
“It was a conscious decision by the AFM and the Maltese authorities” that the official would be the only participant in the mission, the army said.
The Labour Party also issued a statement on Tuesday, saying, “PN MP Darren Carabott did a Jason Azzopardi and lashed out at the AFM. He alleged that Maltese soldiers were training Ukrainian troops. Carabott lied.”
It accused the PN of “tarnishing the reputation of the AFM and its soldiers.”
During the press conference, Carabott stressed that the Nationalist Party stands in full solidarity with all soldiers and AFM officials.