Iran Press/ Europe: The initial round of talks in Copenhagen in June saw just 15 participants, rising to 43 for the second round in Jeddah in August.
The meeting of national security delegates is the third round of such talks in recent months. Ukraine sees them as an opportunity to win support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan from countries across the globe.
Russia, which wasn't invited to any of the meetings, has dismissed the initiative as one-sided.
Sixty-five countries sent delegates. Russia was not invited and China chose not to attend.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, however, has dismissed the Malta talks as a "blatantly anti-Russian event."
They had "nothing to do with the search for a peaceful resolution," she said on Thursday.
Participants in Malta included the United States, the EU and Britain, staunch supporters of Kyiv following Russia's February 2022 invasion.
Turkey, which has offered itself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, was also represented, according to a list.
So too were South Africa, Brazil and India, all members of the influential BRICS bloc, which also includes Russia. 219
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