Highlights of Soviet Maltese relations 1965-1989

Abstract

Malta had just gained independence in 1964- after 164 years of British Rule; Malta became politically independent under the sovereignty of the British Monarch. Along with the independence constitution a defense agreement was also signed that permitted British Forces to stay on the island for another 10 years in the first instance. With Independence Malta was free to legislate without any British interference and without the fear of having the so-called „reserved matters‟ cropping up in times of crisis. Most important of all and that which concerns us here is the new power which Malta had to build relationships and alliances with foreign countries as an independent nation. This work will seek to explore these relations that the Maltese Government forged and what purpose they served-- economic, political or social. In particular it will examine highlights of relations with the USSR between 1965 and 1989 during the era of the Cold War when the Soviet Union was one of the two chief protagonists in world affairs. Malta‟s strategic position had very important geo-political implications at a time when the world was ideologically divided between east and west. Prior to Labour coming into power, the Nationalist government had always preferred to be politically aligned with the West, essentially because the West was the archetype of democracy. It represented everything that the Maltese believed in: freedom of choice and religion. When the Labour party formed the new government in 1971 and started pursuing relations with the East, the proBritish and pro-Nationalists identified a threat to their heritage and identity. For the elections of 1971, Mintoff had promised that Malta would adopt a policy of neutrality, that he believed would be best for the island at the time and would help transform the Mediterranean into a lake of peace. The first discussions with the Soviet Union on possible economic aid had taken place in 1971, when the Soviet Ambassador accredited to Malta but living in London, visited the island for the opening of Parliament in August 1971. At that point only a small agreement regarding the use of the Malta drydocks by Soviet merchant ships. However relations started to grow further with the arrival of a Polish and Romanian delegation in October of that same year, after which Mintoff, the Prime Minister, had travelled on a tour that took him to Eastern European countries including Poland and Romania. It was only after the Prime Minister‟s arrival at the destinations that the press and the general public got to know that the visits had taken him to Eastern Europe. This clearly was not what the pro-British and pro-Nationalists had been expecting from Mintoff‟s policy of neutrality. Furthermore the departure of NATO NAVSOUTH headquarters and the end of the Anglo-Maltese defence agreement from the island had caused great concern because it was then defenseless. On the other hand supporters of the Labour Government had perceived it to be a golden opportunity for Malta to be known for its upkeep of peace in the Mediterranean. Relations had further intensified with the Soviet Union during the 1980s with the opening of a long awaited Embassy on the part of the Soviet Union, the Soviet bunkering agreement which allowed Soviet merchant ships to use fuel storage facilities on the island, the Soviet pledge to safeguard Malta‟s neutrality and trade agreements regarding Maltese exports to the Soviet union, were all signed before the elections in December of 1981. The visit, which had been made by the Prime Minister, Mintoff to the Soviet Union, at the invitation of the Soviet Government had reflected the importance of these relations to the USSR. The path Malta‟s foreign policy had been taking caused great concern amongst Western powers especially NATO. Relations with the Soviet Union had not been consistent with Mintoff‟s approach to a neutral status for Malta. After Mintoff‟s resignation in 1984, with Dr. Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici taking his place as Prime Minister, relations with the Soviet Union declined as the latter was much less proactive in his approach. His main aim was to strengthen relations with the West, so as to remove any misconceptions that they had regarding Malta‟s policy. Relations had continued to decline further with a Nationalist victory in 1987, whose western aligned policy had long been drawn out since the 60s, when they had declined to open a Soviet Embassy in Malta.