Peace without justice: Why is Abela playing to Trump’s tune?

On Friday, we were horrified by the bullying of the President of Ukraine in the Oval Office, where Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to show eternal gratitude and submission while Donald Trump and J.D. Vance blamed him for being partly responsible for his country’s invasion by Putin’s Russia.

It was a blood-curdling moment—one of those iconic historical events that mark the start of a dark new era. An era where imperial powers like the US and Russia carve up the world and its mineral resources between them, leaving Europe increasingly isolated and vulnerable to Russian revanchism and US indifference.

One would have expected the Maltese Prime Minister to join other EU leaders in immediately affirming his support for Ukraine and its legitimate government, as nearly all European leaders have done. All he needed to say was that Malta stands by Ukraine.

Trump claimed that Zelensky’s stance was “disrespectful” to the US and could escalate tensions to a global conflict

Such a simple statement would have been fully in line with our constitutional principle of “active neutrality.” Neither would it have precluded our hypothetical role in diplomatic efforts to stop the war by addressing its main cause: the invasion and the loss of Ukrainian territory. It was a matter of dignity and self-respect—qualities our government seems to lack.

The next day, Foreign Minister Ian Borg, interviewed on RTK, expressed discomfort at Trump’s antics and denounced Russian aggression, while hinting that being too vocal in taking sides would preclude Malta’s diplomatic efforts, including the possibility of hosting a summit between the players. This gave the impression that, while our heart is in the right place, we should refrain from being overly indignant.

While this logic is understandable, the timing was questionable. The day after being humiliated by Trump, Ukraine needed full and unwavering solidarity from the European Union.  Without that we risk a peace devoid of justice.

Yet on Sunday, as European leaders gathered in London to send a message of strength and resolve—bolstering Ukraine’s position in any future negotiations—Abela instead played along with Trump’s narrative. He described the Oval Office episode as “worrying” but then suggested that Ukraine, the victim of an illegal invasion, should make concessions.

Prime Minister Robert Abela argued that the Ukraine war could not end without “compromises” and warned that EU funds should not continue to be used for weapons in conflicts

Inevitably, Abela’s remarks sent all the wrong signals to a local audience increasingly exposed to Russian and Trumpian misinformation that blames Ukraine for its own invasion. Worse still, it exposed a disturbing reality: that Trumpism has a foothold among supporters of what is nominally a part of the European Social Democratic family.

Abela also argued that the Ukraine war could not end without “compromises” and warned that EU funds should not continue to be used for weapons in conflicts.

“I hope the EU’s position next week won’t be one of foot-stamping and insisting the only way for the war to end is for Ukraine to win it,” he said. “Let’s be realistic. I don’t think this can ever happen.”

But crucially Abela did not specify what concessions he expects Ukraine to make to Russia. But if Abela (and Trump) have their way, Ukraine would be forced into negotiations from a position of weakness. The only reason Ukraine is still standing is because it has received military assistance to defend itself. Otherwise, Russia would have won the war, removed Zelensky from office, and installed a puppet regime—the original objective of the 2022 invasion.

Moreover, for Ukraine, any deal legitimizing Russia’s conquest of Ukrainian territory would be a national humiliation, potentially triggering an ultranationalist backlash against Zelensky—who, ironically, was elected on a centrist platform that initially sought peace negotiations with Russia.

And while everyone would like the bloodshed to stop, no one in their right mind wants to whet Putin’s appetite for further aggression in a domino effect that could see him applying the same tactics in other former Eastern Bloc countries with Russian-speaking minorities.

History teaches that the worst mistake with strongmen like Putin is appeasement, as happened when Czechoslovakia was dismembered in a bid to secure peace with Nazi Germany. In this sense, “peace” becomes another word for fear and submission—when peace is imposed and divorced from justice.

But the question remains: why is Abela taking a stance that risks isolating Malta from the rest of the EU at such a crucial moment? And why underline this peculiar stance on the very day when most of Europe, including the UK, was moving in the opposite direction—sending a strong message to both Putin and Trump that Ukraine will not be left alone?

Perhaps Abela is addressing a local audience that mistakenly equates Malta’s active neutrality—born of our own anti-colonial struggles and solidarity with the Global South—with sitting on the fence to minimize collateral damage. Or perhaps, there is a desire to bask in the spotlight as a facilitator for an imposed peace devoid of justice. 

My suspicion? We are desperate to remain in the good graces of King Donald, hoping for transactional benefits—or simply trying to avoid a backlash from an increasingly erratic and irrational actor who demands placation and payback.

In hindsight, Ian Borg’s mysterious invitation to Trump’s inauguration (where no other EU leader, apart from far-right Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, was invited) now seems to fit into a sinister pattern. Just weeks ago, Malta remained silent on Trump’s atrocious proposal to vacate Gaza of its people—despite our historical commitment to the Palestinian cause. Now, we are playing to his tune on Ukraine by calling for concessions in the name of an imposed peace.

Foreign Minister Ian Borg with US President Donald Trump (Photo: LinkedIn/Ian Borg)

We should not forget that Malta’s only real foreign policy asset is its soft power—as a voice for peace, and justice. Yes, we should also use this voice to remind the EU of the contradiction in fully supporting Ukraine while handling Netanyahu with kid gloves while he commits his crimes.

But as a small country with a colonial past, we should be at the forefront in demanding full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations facing imperialist powers.  We owe it to our forefathers, those who died resisting Nazi aggression in the Second World War. Instead of raising the white flag in the name of a false peace, we persevered, thus giving our small contribution to the allied victory which secured peace in Europe for more than nearly 80 years.