10/28/2023 10:23 pm (current 10/28/2023 10:30 pm)
Senior politicians discuss the Ukraine war in Malta ©APA/AFP
A third major international meeting on Ukraine began in Malta on Saturday for a possible later peace summit to end the Russian war of aggression. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the meeting of representatives from more than 60 countries as a sign of unity against Russia. “The unity of the world is what is really needed to defeat the aggressor,” Zelensky said in his video message distributed Saturday night.
The talks in Malta are being led by the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, who intends to use them to prepare an international peace summit. “International support for the Ukrainian peace formula is growing,” Yermak said at the beginning. In addition to the central demand for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, Zelensky’s “peace formula” also includes the release of all prisoners of war, a tribunal against war criminals and security guarantees for the country.
Top diplomats and national security advisers from several countries will gather at the conference this weekend. Russia, which rejects Zelensky’s “peace formula” as unrealistic, is not invited. The meeting continues on Sunday.
Jermak spoke of 65 states represented, significantly more than in the summer in Saudi Arabia. “This is truly a demonstration that the world is interested in justice and a victory for Ukraine,” he said. “Russia’s misrepresentations about declining interest in Ukraine have not come to fruition.”
Russia, which was not invited, described the talks as an “obviously anti-Russian event”. China, which launched its own peace initiative as an ally of Russia, will have stayed away this time, unlike in the summer. The USA, Germany and Great Britain, as well as the European Union, are considered Ukraine’s most important supporters. A high-level diplomat and representative of the Federal Chancellery in Malta represents Austria.
However, Ukraine is concerned about declining support in the West. There are also discussions about billions in aid to the US. Before the meeting, Yermak said in an interview with the American television channel Fox that Kiev continues to count on Washington’s help. “Our victory will be a shared victory because a Russian defeat is in the strategic and political interests of the United States.” At the same time, he said: “And winning this war will be very difficult – or even impossible without the help of the United States and other partners.”
Ukraine is expected to use the two days of talks until Sunday as an opportunity to drum up support for Zelensky’s peace plan. As with previous conferences in Copenhagen and Jeddah, the topics of energy, food and nuclear security, as well as humanitarian issues and the restoration of Ukraine’s borders will be discussed.