FOUR citizens registered with the Malaysian embassy in Ukraine are still in the country that has been invaded by Russia, Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said today.

He said some of them are married to the locals.

The Malaysian embassy in Warsaw is in constant contact with them, he added.

“Our embassy is ever ready to assist them if they want to leave Ukraine.

“We will ease their entry into other countries and assist with relevant documentation. We will also ensure their welfare is taken care of,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Saifuddin (Indera Mahkota-PN) was responding to M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat-PH), who asked if there were still Malaysians in Ukraine and what the government was doing to help them.

Saifuddin said 13 Malaysians left Ukraine from February 14-24.

“On February 24, nine more Malaysians and two embassy staffer were evacuated from Kyiv.”

He said the government had always advised Malaysians abroad to register with the country’s embassy in the countries they were in.

“We always have an evacuation plan in place not only for conflicts but also for natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.”

Saifuddin said the country had a good relationship with both Russia and Ukraine and was not prepared to get directly involved in the peace negotiations.

“We support the peace negotiations that are being held by other countries.”

He said that Malaysia did not believe in unilateral sanctions.

“The sanctions have to be brought before the United Nations. As a member of the UN human rights council, we have suggested a ceasefire, for negotiations to continue and sanctions, if necessary, but we haven’t reached that stage. We have to be careful with all these sanctions.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Resultant fighting and shelling in the country have caused many deaths and displaced millions of Ukrainians who have fled to the neighbouring countries. – March 8, 2022.