Without Russia, which criticized Malta for hosting the talks after smaller ones this year in Jeddah and in Copenhagen, Zelenskiy said he longed for a day when human history "is the history of peace only."
Officials said they hoped for the outcome of the weekend's gathering, partly in person, partly virtual, to be agreement to hold a global peace summit later this year.
No official list of delegates to the talks was issued, but officials said they included representatives of European, South American, Arab, African and Asian countries.
Simon Mordue of the European Council and Bjorn Seibert of the European Commission represented the EU, the official said.
The parties would take necessary preparatory steps for a possible peace summit in future with no exact date yet fixed, the official said.
Persons:
Alexander Ermochenko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Ian Borg, Borg, Simon Mordue, Bjorn Seibert, Christopher Scicluna, Elaine Monaghan, Andrew Gray, Olena, David Evans, Mike Harrison
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, YouTube, Malta's, European Union, United, United Arab Emirates, European, European Commission, EU, Thomson
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Russian, Rights VALLETTA, Malta, Israel, Kyiv, Jeddah, Copenhagen, China, Egypt, United Arab, Armenia, Mexico, Washington, Brussels