European Union member states failed to agree on a ninth package of sanctions on Russia in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said as EU leaders met in Brussels on Thursday for their final summit of the year. year.
The countries moved towards a deal in negotiations on Wednesday, but Poland and some other countries still have objections, an EU diplomat told Reuters, adding that a new draft was expected to be circulated on Thursday night.
New sanctions on Moscow have been held back by disagreement over whether the EU should make it easier for Russian fertilizer exports to pass through European ports, even if the fertilizer companies are owned by blacklisted oligarchs. .
Some say the EU restrictions pose a threat to food security in developing countries, while others say relaxing them would allow Russian oligarchs who own fertilizer companies to circumvent EU sanctions against them.
An EU diplomat said Poland and the Baltics are telling other countries that they are deluding themselves if they think that easing restrictions on Russian fertilizers will not provide a loophole for the oligarchs.
Some Member States want the World Food Program to intervene in the authorization of exports of fertilizers to countries that need them.