Recently appointed chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta Yan Borg will visit Ukraine next week.

"Next week I will visit Kyiv to demonstrate our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," Borg said as reported by The Times of Malta.

He added that Malta’s chairmanship would continue demanding full, unconditional and immediate withdrawal of the Russian troops from the whole territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

"I reiterate my strongest condemnation of the intensified attacks witnessed in the last weeks," Borg stated.

In the presence of Russian and Ukrainian diplomats, Borg made it clear that Malta’s primary priority for the OSCE is the "unequivocal commitment to keeping Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine at the top of the OSCE agenda".

"Let us do everything possible to break the chain of relentless violence, anguish, and suffering we are witnessing, not only in this war but in conflicts around the world. Let us halt all deliberate destruction of vital infrastructure and all civilian deaths. Let us reverse the normalisation of this callous indifference to human life," he said.

From 1 January 2024 Malta started its year-long chairmanship in the OSCE after Russia had been blocking the functioning of the organisation and Estonia’s chairmanship for months.

Last month Malta and Finland, which is to chair the OSCE in 2025, committed to support Ukraine while Russia’s war is ongoing, as well as after it is over, when Ukraine delves into the reconstruction process.