EU seeks Russia sanctions deal before oil price-cap deadline

European Union countries were trying on Tuesday to agree on a new sanctions package against Russia before a deadline that could weaken a measure aimed at limiting Moscow’s oil export revenues.

Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states were due to hold talks in Brussels after objections delayed an agreement. If no deal is reached by Wednesday, current rules could require the EU to raise its oil price cap from $44 to a level closer to international oil prices after prices rose because of the Middle East war.

Brussels wanted the new sanctions package to change those rules and keep the current cap for several more months. The aim is to prevent the Kremlin from benefiting from the rise in prices, according to the source.

The package would be the 21st round of EU sanctions against Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It was proposed last month but has faced objections from several countries. Bulgaria resisted placing Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on the blacklist. Diplomats said Germany objected to a ban on imports of Alaskan Pollock from Russia, a fish used widely in children’s meals. There was also pressure to soften a plan for a broad visa ban on Russians who took part in the war in Ukraine.

Diplomats said other issues still needed to be resolved and it was unclear whether a deal could be reached before the oil price deadline. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers on Monday that countries were “quite close” to an agreement. She said the EU’s aim was to reach a deal, and that without one it would start work on a Plan B.

The source said failing to reach agreement could be a blow to the EU at a time when Kyiv appears to be gaining ground in the war. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was set to visit Kyiv on Wednesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.