Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has lauded Malta for hosting the peace talks taking place over the weekend with representatives from more than 60 countries.
Zelensky hopes the two-day meeting, being held behind closed doors, will drum up support for his 10-point plan to end the war sparked by Russia's February 2022 invasion.
It follows similar summits in Jeddah and Copenhagen last summer. Russia has dismissed the talks as biased and refused to attend.
Addressing the participants, Zelensky said the aspiration for peace was stipulated in international law and the UN Charter but expressed doubt whether the latter was working.
“Here in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and in African countries, the answer to this question is the cries of mothers burying their sons and daughters killed in wars, and the despair of children orphaned by wars. We can and must give a different answer. The world has seen too much blood,” he said.
The Peace Formula he proposed last year covers all aspects of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and is based on the principles of the UN Charter and United Nations General Assembly resolutions approved by the world. Over the year, the formula has gradually become global, with more and more countries and international organisations joining efforts to implement it, Zelensky said.
“The result of these collective actions can be the restoration of the territorial integrity of our state and the full force of international law, thus ensuring a reliable and just peace,” he added.
Zelensky appealed to summit participants to do their part for peace. “Our joint efforts are laying the foundation for a new global tradition of unity where helping one country helps us learn how the end of all wars. There are no two wars alike but the peace formula can and should be universal,” he said.
Zelensky said he was grateful to the Maltese government for hosting the meeting and listed many countries and leaders who were backing the plan.
He singled out in particular European President Roberta Metsola, “a Maltese woman, a defender of international law and a brave person who was among the first to visit Ukraine after the start of full-scale aggression and has consistently helped to defend lives”.
Zelensky's peace plan calls for Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine's internationally recognised borders, including from the territory of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Ian Borg emphasised the strong international attendance as a vote of confidence in Malta as a peace broker.
“This is a sign of trust in Malta’s role as a bridge for peace,” Borg said in opening remarks.