Russian rhetoric on nuclear arms heightening tensions, Malta tells Security Council

Matthew Vella reporting from New York, United Nations

Malta has dubbed “unacceptable” Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric on nuclear weapons in the week he announced  Russia’s intention to withdraw from the New START treaty, and said it would be at the forefront of global action to address the consequences of Russia’s aggression.

Foreign minister Ian Borg held the gavel at the Security Council on Friday, at a meeting convened on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The world’s most powerful diplomats and foreign ministers heard Ukraine call the Russian seat on the Security Council “a throne of impunity”, warning that its leadership had yet to face prosecution for its war crimes.

“You think you will get away with what you did? No. You will end up on trial,” foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said in his opening address, preceding Malta’s. “You will be testifying that you were just following orders. You think the world will get tired of supporting Ukraine? The support will only get stronger... the longer the attack, the more resolve we will have, the more humiliating your defeat.”

As Kuleba exhorted the dignitaries to stand up for a minute’s silence for the Ukrainian victims of the war, Russian permanent representative Vasily Nebenzya called the Council to attention, insisting he would only stand to mark “all the victims of the war... not only Ukrainians.” Borg did not acknowledge Nebenzya as he stood for the minute’s silence with the rest of the Council.

Earlier Nebenzya criticised the Maltese decision to accord room to Ukraine to make its statement before the members of the Council. “We regret that the Maltese Presidency time and again demonstrates its explicit neglect of UNSC’s rules and practices by placing its national position and the position of the European Union above its responsibilities as President of the Council... Malta failed this task.”

But the expected protest from Russia was also met by Malta with a clear justification of the rules on which its decision has been based. 

In his own statement, Borg heralded Ukraine’s “astonishing courage and resilience” for not only fighting back Russia’s aggression but also for upholding the international rules-based order.

He cited reports of indiscriminate killings of civilians, attacks on civilian infrastructure, torture, and forced deportations of children by Russia, the latter a harrowing act of terror whose impacts – Borg said – would be felt for generations on Ukraine’s children.

“Malta will continue to stand with Ukraine and seek accountability,” Borg said, calling for the perpetrators of war crimes to be brought to justice and held to account, adding that Malta was supporting investigations by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Russian war crimes.

Borg expressed deep concern over nuclear safety in Ukraine, and the shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. “In the context of a deteriorating global non-proliferation architecture, any declarations by Russia suggesting that the possible use of nuclear weapons is in any way justified are unacceptable,” Borg said, in a reference to Putin’s statements that Russia would withdraw from restrictions on nuclear stockpiling. “Such rhetoric only leads to uncertainty, further undermines trust between parties, and only serves as a means to escalate the conflict and heighten tensions.”

Borg also described Malta as a “committed multilateralist” that would defend Ukraine’s bid to retain its territorial integrity, and called Russian aggression a direct affront to the rules-based international order. “The only step towards a lasting peace would be for Russia to immediately cease all hostilities, and unconditionally, completely withdraw all of its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.”