the Republic of Malta

Diplomatic relations between the USSR and Malta were established on July 26, 1967. In December 1991, the government of Malta officially recognized Russia as a sovereign successor state to the Soviet Union. Bilateral relations are based on the Agreement in the form of the exchange of Aide Memoires on the recognition, respect and support by the Soviet Union of the status of the Republic of Malta as a neutral state pursuing the policy of non-alignment (October 8, 1981) and the Joint declaration on friendship and cooperation (December 28, 1992).

Bilateral practical cooperation between Russia and Malta has been suspended soon after the special military operation in Ukraine was launched. Malta was added to the list of states committing unfriendly actions against Russia after it backed the EU’s sanctions against Russia in February 2022.

Until 2022 bilateral cooperation between the two countries included the following high-level political contacts.

On April 15, 2019, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko received Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Malta Alex Sceberras Trigona in Moscow.

In summer 2019 Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Malta Carmelo Abela was on a three-day visit to Moscow where he held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on August 20.

On June 10, 2020, Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of Malta Evarist Bartolo. One year later, on May 25, 2021, they had a meeting in Sochi which added a strong impetus to bilateral relations.

In October 2017, the Maltese parliamentary delegation headed by Speaker Angelo (Anġlu) Farrugia attended the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Saint Petersburg. In July 2019, the Maltese parliamentary delegation took part in 2nd International Forum “Development of Parliamentarism” in Moscow.

On November 15, 2016, an intergovernmental Agreement on mutual recognition of education, qualifications and academic degrees, a memorandum on cooperation in the field of tourism and an agreement between the Roscongress Foundation and international business development agency “TradeMalta” were signed during a working visit of Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat to Russia.

On March 23, 2021, a Russian-Maltese intergovernmental Protocol amending the Convention between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Malta for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income of 24 April 2013 entered into force.

There are Malta’s Honorary Consuls in Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod.