Malta will not be expelling any Russian diplomats, Ian Borg has said, but will instead be freezing a pending request by Russia to deploy more diplomatic staff here.
Borg said that Malta was unable to expel Russian diplomats due to the limitation of its diplomatic presence in Russia.
The Foreign Affairs Minister was speaking to colleagues from other EU member states at a Foreign Affairs Council meeting held in Luxembourg, primarily to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Multiple EU member states have over the past two weeks announced that they will be expelling Russian diplomats, saying they suspect them of being spies.
Croatia became the most recent nation to announce expulsions, saying on Monday that it would be demanding that 18 Russian diplomats and six administrative staff leave the country.
Malta has remained silent about the issue, and Borg’s ministry ignored questions sent by Times of Malta last week about its diplomatic relations with Russia.
Borg instead addressed the issue at the Luxembourg meeting, saying Malta’s small diplomatic presence in Russia meant it was not in a position to expel any Russian diplomatic staff.
A press release sent out by Borg’s ministry did not explain what the minister meant by that, but sources within the diplomatic corps told Times of Malta that, with just a couple of Maltese diplomats assigned to Russia, the government fears ending up with no presence whatsoever in the country if Vladimir Putin's government were to respond to a diplomatic expulsion in kind.
Borg revealed that Russia has a pending request to deploy more diplomats locally. That request was now frozen, he said.
Russia has listed all EU member states, including Malta, on a list of ‘unfriendly nations’ following EU-agreed upon sanctions against the country and Putin’s regime.
During his speech, Borg reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the guarantee of safe evacuation corridors for civilians. He added that Malta would continue to support efforts undertaken at an EU and international level to address the immediate needs of Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens.