Discussions are under way to bring to Malta to treat any Ukrainian nationals with serious health conditions, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday as he dodged questions on whether his government will stop selling golden passports to Russian nationals.

He said health was one of the areas where Malta was willing to lend a helping hand to those fleeing the war.

Abela dodged a question on whether Malta was going to stop selling golden passports to Russian nationals and also failed to reply whether his government will be withdrawing the National Order of Merit given to Russian Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyeko.

Abela also skirted a Times of Malta question on whether he was ready to publish names of Russian nationals who had purchased Maltese citizenship, saying only that Malta had a robust due diligence process and that many applications get turned down.

Asked whether Ukraine will be removed from the dark red list to facilitate their travel to Malta, Abela said the COVID-19 red listing will not deter people from being brought to Malta.

“We will apply sanctions agreed at EU level but have to respect the Russian community in Malta and who probably do not agree with the war. We are showing solidarity with Ukraine but I do not agree with the stance taken by Opposition leader Bernard Grech. We cannot treat all Russians as criminals,” he said.