Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg has said that if it were up to him he would allow all countries to give Russia a “strong message” against its war in Ukraine in an upcoming United Nations Security Council, which Malta will be chairing.

Borg was speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday at the United Nations headquarters in New York City after two days of activities in the United Nations Security Council which were part of Malta’s presidency of the prestigious institution.

Considered as one of the most important bodies within the United Nations, the Security Council is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is made up of 15 members: five permanent and 10 non-permanent. Malta is one of the latter and has for this month also been the holder of the Council’s presidency.

Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday, after chairing the first of two keynote events which the Maltese presidency organised, Foreign Affairs Minister Borg speaks of his appreciation of the work put in so that Malta could take up the post for the first time in 40 years, and said that how the country is handling itself is not a matter of personal interest.

“Over here it’s not a question of ‘Malta’ or of ‘our own interests’ – what is key is the fact that we can contribute on an international level in an important council when the world is facing significant challenges, and so we can put forward the principles which make up our international politics,” he explains when asked what he hopes will emerge from Malta’s presidency of the UN Security Council.

The main principle, he continues, is that Malta is a neutral country but is active in favour of what is good – a principle he said is enshrined in the “strong position” which Malta has taken on the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Borg says that while Malta advocates for not having to seek military recourse, he understands that those being attacked must defend themselves and expects that those who attack someone else’s territorial sovereignty should withdraw and – if they have claims or pretensions – should sit round the table to discuss.

“We do this because we are a country which is protected by treaties and international laws. We don’t really have a defence or an army to defend us in the case of an attack, so we expect that people follow international treaties. When others, who don’t follow them are not condemned and not forced to rectify what they have done, then we think that their actions can then touch others,” he says.

So, he adds, the biggest benefit is that Malta can contribute through this position to the international sphere.

The war in Ukraine will be one of the topics which will be discussed at the UN Security Council during Malta’s presidency, with a high-level debate set to take place on 24 February – the one-year anniversary of the start of the war – at the UN’s Headquarters in New York City.

Borg, who will be chairing that debate, says that this will be a “very important” week, with the UN Security Council set to hold the aforementioned debate, and with a resolution for the war to be discussed by the UN’s General Assembly – the UN’s main policy-making organ, where every single country is represented – also set to be tabled.

Asked about the debate, Borg says that a high number of foreign affairs ministers are expected to fly into New York in order to participate – something which he adds creates a particular challenge for Malta, as the holder of the Presidency, to deal with.

“We have a significant challenge as there are clear rules on who can contribute [to a debate], but everyone wants to take part. Besides the 15 permanent members, the presidency, which is currently in our hands, can permit under clear rules who it can allow to speak and who it cannot,” he explains.

“We are being inundated at every level – ambassadors, here in New York, ministers – for us to allow friends of ours to contribute. If it were up to me I would allow everyone to give the Russian Federation the strong message that this war has to stop and that they should withdraw from Ukrainian territory, but the rules – and time – don’t allow it,” he laments.

More than the content of the meeting, it’s the diplomatic logistics issue which, he says, is giving them a few headaches.

It’s constant communication, he says when asked how they would handle such an issue, which is the answer, along with eventually having to make a decision on certain things.

“Even if our politics is quite clear, we receive a lot of varied suggestions – all of which are honest and which are because the givers want the best for Malta and their presidency – but ultimately some end up being conflicting so we need to pick one over the other. Obviously this is all done in the positive spirit that we are taking decisions for the good of the country and to fulfil our obligation as best as we can,” he says.

 

Gutierres’ words reminded me of when Malta presided over the EU for the first time – Borg

Despite being one of the smallest countries in the United Nations, Malta holds the Presidency of a UN body which has the power to enact laws immediately, and which is used to seeing sparring between major powers such as the USA and Russia.

Asked what it says about Malta that, despite its size, the country holds the presidency, Borg speaks of a meeting he had with UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierres around half-an-hour prior to the interview.

“His words reminded me of the first time Malta presided over the EU. He said that small countries can be effective, can be good listeners and are capable in reaching compromises. We cannot reach compromises on what is wrong, such as on breaches of international laws, but we can reach compromises on the methodology and the work itself,” he says.

The programme of work at the UN is vast: in just two days where The Malta Independent was present at the headquarters in New York events on the prevention of the use of children in armed conflict and on the impact of rising sea levels on international peace were organised by Malta, while a closed discussion on the impacts of the massive earthquake, which hit Turkey and Syria a couple of weeks ago, also took place.

He says however that because Malta is a small country, which can focus its efforts and also because there is no polarisation between the government and Opposition locally on the country’s foreign policy, take decisions based on the common good.

Asked about the two aforementioned activities organised by Malta at the Security Council at the start of last week, Borg says that the subjects which Malta worked on are not ones which generally bring about division.

“God forbid we disagree that children should be protected from being used in a war or that they shouldn’t lose their future by being thrown into the adult arena of war, because even in war there are rules,” he says.

Speaking about the debate on rising sea levels, Borg notes that while there are some countries which believe that the developing world has gained success to the detriment of the environment, it’s now time for underdeveloped countries to achieve the same success, the fact that rising sea levels are serious and will threaten the security and peace of coastal areas is not debatable.

Unanimity is still difficult: even a simple concept like that found some opposition in the UN Security Council chamber a couple of hours prior to the interview, with both Brazil and Russia saying that there was no scientific proof linking climate change with international security issues.

 “A council by itself isn’t going to solve this – you have governments, international organisations and other bodies which need to work together. Why those themes? We felt we could have a serious discussion, if not a consensus, which helps the international debate. Had we gone for divisive topics we likely wouldn’t have had such a mature discussion,” he says.

 

‘A privilege and an honour’

The moment for Borg, a lawyer from the rural village of Dingli, to take the seat of President on the UN’s Security Council was surely a surreal one.

“It is a privilege and an honour,” he says when asked on a personal level how it felt representing Malta at this level.

“One needs to remember how much work has gone in so that Malta can hold this chair for the second time since 40 years ago. It was the Gonzi administration which felt that it was time to apply for the seat, the Muscat administration continued to work and seek support for people to either vote for us or not contest us, and in this administration it was my turn as Foreign Affairs Minister to lead the election and eventually see out the days of observing, taking our chair at the table and the Presidency as well,” he says.

“I’m grateful for the fact that the system did all this work and luck had it that I was the person who got to sit here. Initially you’re a bit excited, but I had the director from Malta’s Permanent Representation at the UN next to me and it’s quite easy to follow their advice, so we then try to do our best,” he concludes.

Borg will again be in the all-important President’s seat next week when Malta chairs a high-level debate on the war in Ukraine. The country’s presidency finishes at the end of the month but Malta will re-assume the role in April 2024 as part of its two-year spell as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.