Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to address Malta’s parliament when it reconvenes in May, Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg said on Monday.  

Malta’s parliament will open on May 7 for the start of its fourteenth legislature, following the Labour Party’s general election victory last month. 

Borg said he had spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba over the phone on Monday morning and extended an invitation for Zelensky to speak to local MPs. 

Kuleba "promised me that he would be recommending that it happens", Borg wrote in a Facebook post. 

Zelensky has addressed multiple national and international parliaments since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, urging lawmakers to do more to defend Ukraine as the country battles to repel Vladimir Putin's troops.

In a tweet on Monday, Kuleba indicated that his conversation with Borg had focused on sanctions and a move to block Russian oil across the EU.  

Writing on Facebook, Borg made no direct reference to Russian fuel.

Instead, he said he had held a conversation with Kuleba about the support Malta is providing the besieged country and its people.  

Borg said Kuleba had conveyed the Ukrainian people’s gratitude for Malta’s humanitarian support in the form of accepted refugees and providing medical supplies.  

He said he had also informed him that Malta is adhering to international sanctions on Russia which were launched after the superpower invaded Ukraine. 

Finally, Borg said he had also explained why Malta had not ejected Russian diplomats from Malta, citing the country’s tiny presence in Moscow.  

Russia has some 10 diplomats in Malta but the island only has two personnel in Moscow.