Two days of Ukraine-led peace talks kicked off in Malta on Saturday, with Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg emphasising the strong international attendance as a vote of confidence in Malta as a peace broker.
More than 60 international delegations are being represented at the Ukraine Peace Forum, Borg said, saying many countries had appreciated the Maltese initiative.
“This is a sign of trust in Malta’s role as a bridge for peace,” Borg said in opening remarks.
The two-day peace summit is the third round of such talks in recent months. While backed by Ukraine, which sees the events as an opportunity to present Volodymyr Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan to countries across the world, Russia has dismissed the talks as biased and refused to attend.
A key element of the Ukrainian president's plan is the restoration of Ukraine's internationally recognised borders, including the territory of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Russia has said that any negotiation involving talk of giving up territory is a non-starter. Its foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters earlier in the week that the Malta summit was a "blatantly anti-Russian event" that had "nothing to do with the search for a peaceful resolution.”
Ukraine, however, will be keen to emphasise the rising headcount at such talks. An initial round of talks in Copenhagen saw just 13 participants, rising to 43 for a second round of talks in Jeddah in the summer.
Aside from representatives of the US, UK, EU and other international institutions, the Malta talks are also hosting representatives of Turkey – a country that has presented itself as a mediator between Russia and the West – and BRICS members Brazil, South Africa and India.
Notable by its absence is China, which has kept at arm’s length of the conflict. While organisers were hopeful that Beijing could send a representative, government sources told Times of Malta that China was not among the attendees.
Malta has been vocal in its support of Ukraine in the conflict, and Borg reiterated that backing in his opening speech on Saturday.
“Although we are a neutral state, we cannot remain silent in the face of injustice, atrocities and abuse of power in this region,” Borg said. “Malta believes in multilateralism under the auspices of international law and the UN Charter.”
Borg and OPM Head of Secretariat Glenn Micallef, who are both representing Malta during the summit, will be hoping to close off the two-day event with a joint statement by participants: something neither the Copenhagen or Jeddah talks were able to accomplish.