Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address Maltese parliament next week

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to deliver a speech to the Maltese parliament on Tuesday at 4pm, according to Speaker Anġlu Farrugia. 

Farrugia confirmed this during an interview on TVAM, saying that he will address the parliament subject to any problems on the Ukrainian side. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg had formally invited Zelenskyy to address the parliament during a phone call with Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba. 

This had been one of his first moves as Malta's foreign minister.

Zelenskyy has addressed several national parliaments since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In March he had also addressed the European Parliament, where he called for the EU to allow it to become a full member state.

Malta sent medical supplies to Ukraine and closed its airspace to Russian airlines when the invasion broke out. Apart from aid, Malta joined other EU member states in imposing sanctions on key Russian individuals, banks and companies.

COVID travel restrictions have also been waived for Ukrainians seeking asylum in Malta